A Second Chance at Forever
by TheOrganicScientist
Summary: Santana left Brittany devastated and without an explanation. Four years later, Santana is an international superstar, and Brittany's new girlfriend just won two backstage passes to meet her. No outside Glee characters.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This first chapter is shorter than most that I plan on writing, so just a heads up. This fic _will_ earn its M rating, so you've been warned. If you notice any grammar mistakes, feel free to point them out. I'll try to avoid making the same ones in the next chapter. Also, I do not own Glee, nor any of their characters.

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Brittany Susan Pierce was lying upside down on a leather couch, her long legs haphazardly thrown over the back; her head was dangling by its own weight, unconfined blonde hair collecting on the floor. She had a bowl of popcorn sitting on the floor next to her, and every few minutes she would throw a piece into the air, trying to sit up fast enough to catch it in her mouth. Her failures lay strewn about the floor, mocking her with their presence. She silently reminded herself to pick them all up before her girlfriend Kate was scheduled to come home. However that thought was quickly forgotten as she threw another kernel into the air, giggling and clapping to the empty room when she finally had the buttery taste of victory in her mouth.

Her celebration was cut short by the sound of her ringtone reverberating throughout the empty apartment. She quickly rolled backwards off of the couch, in the effortless style only a dancer possessed, and jogged over to her phone.

"Hello?" Immediately she had to pull the phone away from her ear, wincing at the loud squealing she could hear still emanating from it. "Kate? What is it?" she asked.

It took a number of minutes but finally her girlfriend calmed down enough to form the words, "I won!" which she began repeating like a mantra. After Brittany pleaded for clarification, Kate gushed, "Oh my god, Brittany, I won! I was caller number ten, and the radio station is giving us two tickets _and _backstage passes to the Santana Lopez concert tonight. We're going to get to meet _the_ Santana Lopez!"

The cell phone slipped through Brittany's now loose fingers, falling unnoticed to the floor, and a horrified expression took over her features. Fuck. No, this couldn't be happening. It had taken her a solid year alone, and frankly, multiple sessions at a therapist to finally get to a point where she didn't flinch at the mere mention of the superstar, _Santana Lopez. _Unwanted memories fought for dominance in her head at the name.

One of the two girls playing with putty in kindergarten, with Santana quickly snatching the purple stuff from Brittany's hand when it seemed as if the blonde would eat it again, and cause herself another stomach ache.

There was a memory of the two of them whispering together, under the covers at a sleepover, that they would always be best friends, the twisting of their pinkies to signify an eternal pact.

Another of the pair while older, dressed in their pristine cheerio uniforms, with the dark haired Latina standing aggressively over the boy she had just punched, shouting in Spanish, because he dared call _her_ Brittany 'stupid'.

Countless memories of the dark haired beauty writhing and moaning beneath her as she brought her over the peak time and time again.

Brittany's favorite memory was of the day that Santana finally kissed her in public, and stopped letting the politics of high school keep their relationship in the dark

However, the memory that eventually succeeded in dominating her mind was watching Santana walk out of the door blaming long distance, her edges blurry because of the tears that had been occupying the blonde's eyes.

At the time of the break up, Brittany had been studying dance at Julliard, while Santana was in LA trying to kick-start her singing career. For months after the incident, the blonde shut herself away from all outside contact, only leaving her apartment to attend class. All contacts from her high school were dropped completely, because any memory with them also included the then unnamable Latina.

However, after a great deal of time and a small number of panic attacks, Brittany managed to return to her social lifestyle.

The first time she heard one of Santana's songs on the radio she stopped in her tracks. Her heart ached at the sweet raspy sound, and her mouth opened and closed repeatedly. Finally, when she came to her senses she started running, pushing people out of her way as she tried to escape the sounds of her past.

She couldn't run very far though. The young adults of the world fell in love with the sultry tones that were _Santana Lopez,_ and she caught on like wildfire. Santana was everywhere. On every magazine, every radio station, and every hosted TV show. Her popularity grew to rival those of Lady GaGa and Katy Perry. The Latina never hid her sexuality from the public view, and she quickly became an idol of the LGBT community. Although it pained Brittany like no other to have her deepest regret plastered on every media surface around her, the blonde also felt an enormous sense of pride. Santana had done it. She had become the star she always told the world she would be.

"Britt!" the shrill voice shouted from the phone, pulling Brittany away from her daze. She knelt quickly and picked her cellphone back up.

"I'm here, sorry, I kind of dropped the phone," she stated innocently, knowing her usually careless nature would cover up the real reason for her silence.

"Of course you did. But did you hear me? We're going to meet Santana Lopez!" Kate practically screamed through the phone.

"Yeah, babe, I heard you… that's amazing. I can't wait. Great," Brittany forced out and quickly started biting her lip, the worried expression never leaving her face. She had never mentioned her connection with the Latina Superstar to anyone in her new life, not even her girlfriend, simply because it was both too painful and personal to talk about. She was immediately regretting that decision, knowing that now it was only a matter of time until she had to explain everything to Kate, and take the punishment that came with keeping information from a significant other.

Luckily Kate was too wrapped up in her own world of excitement to notice the false tone that emanated at the blonde's every word. "We have like no time, Britt. Put on something cute. I'll be there in an hour, Bye!"

Brittany set the phone down, glaring at it traitorously as she slowly walked towards her room, her shoulders hunched under the weight of her stress. It had been four years since she last saw Santana. Maybe this was a sign that they had gone too long without a genuine resolution. Brittany clung to that idea the instant it entered her head, and allowed it to pull her out from under some of the anxiety. She entered her room and began a staring match with her closet, trying to decide what exactly a person would normally wear to see their ex girlfriend turned superstar.

Almost an hour later on the dot, Kate came running into the apartment, her long brown hair already flowing around the corner by the time Brittany looked up from her position on the couch. "Give me fifteen minutes, and then we're out of here," Kate's voice called from the bedroom.

Brittany chose to remain silent, and resorted to picking up each of the popcorn kernels she had left on the floor earlier. She ached to go back to that time, before the impending doom of seeing Santana again.

The sound of her feet stomping against the floor trumpeted Kate's re-arrival to the room. At 5'4, Kate was much shorter than Brittany, but her petite frame, dark wavy locks, and hazel eyes in combination made her undeniably gorgeous. Kate took a minute to catch her breath before she finally looked at Brittany. "Damn…" She breathed out, "You look hot."

The blonde bashfully looked away at the compliment, but she didn't deny it. She had tried pretty damn hard to get that affect. Brittany had left her hair slightly tousled and wavy, with sinfully cut dark blue shorts and an off the shoulder faded American flag inspired shirt. Leather bracelets coated her wrists, which matched the leather boots she was sporting.

"Are they holding the tickets and passes for us?" Brittany questioned, hoping to change the subject from _why_ exactly she was trying to look so hot.

Bringing up the concert seemed to have the desired affect on Kate, and the frazzled appearance took hold once again. She quickly grabbed the blonde's hand, and pulled her out of the apartment and towards the car, answering her question as they went. "Yeah, they have them. I just want to get there like now. I can't believe this all happened for us, Britt. I just can't believe we get to go backstage and meet _her"_ Kate squealed with excitement at the thought while stepping into the car. Brittany couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes as she followed her.

"I mean… it's just San-tana," The blonde had to force herself not to use her normal nickname for the Latina. She didn't want to give up the game on the off chance that they wouldn't actually personally speak to the superstar.

"_Just _Santana? Are you kidding? You know she is my Idol! She is a goddess," Kate screamed with a disbelieving voice.

"I know you like her, and obviously she has a great voice" Brittany began, trying to do a small amount of damage control. "I just think it's just important to remember she's just a person. Not a goddess." It had been trying for Brittany over the course of her relationship with Kate to deal with the fact that her girlfriend had an obsession with her ex, but she was generally able to steer the conversation away from the Latina. Tonight would definitely be the exception to that.

Kate let out a sigh of exasperation, "Brittany, I know practically all there is to know about Santana. And let me tell you, that woman is a genuine goddess. You'll see when you meet her tonight."

Brittany couldn't help but enjoy a private laugh at Kate 'Knowing all there is to know about Santana', but made sure not to show it. She raised her hands in mock surrender but couldn't keep the slightly bitter tone out of her voice when she responded, "You're right, I'm sure I'll see just how _wonderful_ she really is."

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**A/N:** Feedback is always appreciated. If you enjoyed what you've read so far, please review/favorite.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time Brittany and Kate made it to their front row seats, the stadium was jam-packed with people, many wearing shirts depicting Santana. Just seeing the mock images was making the blonde dancer's heart race, and she was growing more and more anxious by the second at the thought of having to see her in person.

"Look at you. You're shaking," Kate laughed, drawing Brittany's attention. "And you always said you weren't a fan. I knew you had to have at least a little Santana Lopez loving in you."

Brittany threw her a wry grin, unable to stop herself from thinking about how Kate would react if she knew just how much of Santana Lopez the blonde has had in her.

Before Brittany could respond, the lights in the stadium went dark and the opening band appeared, causing an upwelling of applause. In all honesty, Brittany didn't actively listen to a single song, still too preoccupied with the fear of seeing Santana again with her own eyes.

As the opening band left and the crew began assembling the stage for Santana's act, Brittany found herself glancing over at Kate with an almost guilty look. She loved the energetic woman, but she had to admit to herself that she had played it safe after Santana. She couldn't bear to be devastated like that again, so when it was obvious that Kate was head over heels about her, she settled, merely happy to be in a relationship that she didn't need to worry if it had an expiration date.

All at once, the lights in the stadium shut off and excited screams filled the air, deafening any other noise. A single stream of light shot down onto the stage, and a silhouette emerged on a hydraulic lift. The screams reached a whole new decibel when then rest of the lights came on and Santana was illuminated, but Brittany could hardly hear them. Her every focus was on the Latina only thirty feet from her. Brittany's mouth began to open and close, and the instant she saw her she lost all coherency in her brain. God she looked _so_ hot.

Santana was dressed in a skintight black dress, accentuated by tall red pumps. Her hair was down and wavy, and Brittany was close enough to see the smoky makeup surrounding and enhancing the diva's dark eyes. As the music started to play, male and female dancers alike joined Santana on the stage, and the concert began in full.

Kate was jumping up and down squealing, holding out her arms hoping to be touched by the superstar. Brittany couldn't take her eyes off of Santana, watching as she danced effortlessly around the stage, transitioning easily between each song, looking incredibly natural. The Latina was able to play the crowd beautifully, winking or smiling at key parts in the routine to make them go crazy.

Brittany felt moisture on her cheek, and after she hesitantly reached up and felt it, she realized that she was crying. The blonde felt utterly overwhelmed: between being proud of the Latina, and miserable at having lost her.

Santana began to sing one of her slower songs, and started to interact with the front row audience by reaching out and touching a few hands. Fear paralyzed Brittany as Santana made her way towards their side of the stage.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Brittany tried to yell over the music into Kate's ear.

"What?" Kate questioned distractedly, never taking her eyes off of the incoming superstar.

"I have to…" but Brittany wasn't fast enough, and Santana's brown eyes locked with her blue. The blonde turned on the spot and pushed her way through the crowd to the walkway and ran, not missing the slight hitch in tone that had penetrated the Latina's otherwise flawless routine.

Once Brittany made it to the outer layer of the stadium where the music was only muted background noise, she found a relatively empty corner and slowly slid against the wall to the ground, resting her head on her pulled up knees. Tears flowed helplessly as she silently cursed Santana for leaving her so suddenly all those years ago. It had been so long since that moment, but Brittany had relied on compartmentalization to make it through the pain, and that one brief look from her former best friend turned lover had opened an unstoppable crack in her carefully crafted box. One thought once again returned to Brittany's mind: she had come here to get a resolution, to finally get her answers. She wouldn't shed any more tears over Santana. With that resolve, Brittany calmly picked herself up off of the ground, wiped at her eyes, and steadily walked back into the concert hall. She was determined that she wouldn't show such vulnerability again.

Once she made her way back to her seat, Kate sent her a questioning glance, and Brittany merely shrugged in response, not wanting to lie any more than she already was to her girlfriend.

The blonde stood and watched the rest of the performance with a stoic yet determined expression. Santana was still performing beautifully, but Brittany's keen 'Santana sense' noticed that the performance was slightly more forced than before.

Once the concert was over, and the lights turned back on in full, Brittany looked over to Kate and asked with a small smile, "So are you ready to meet her?"

"Yes!" Kate squealed as she grabbed the blonde's hand and pulled her through the crowd. They made their way to the backstage entrance and showed their passes upon the security guard's request. Before they entered the room where they and a few other backstage pass holders were supposed to meet with Santana, Brittany pulled Kate to a stop.

"I… I think you should go in first without me," the blonde stated quietly. She knew that once she walked into the room, Kate wouldn't be able to have the conversation she was hoping for with Santana.

"What? Why would I do that?" Kate asked, seeming entirely confused.

"I just want you to have a chance to talk to her on your own first, I know how much this means to you." When it seemed as if her girlfriend was going to continue to protest, Brittany continued, "Please. Trust me."

At that, Kate still seemed confused but slowly nodded and walked into the room. After a few minutes, Brittany allowed herself to peek in and saw that Kate had been the last in line to talk to Santana, but was set to talk to her next. The blonde subtly slipped into the back of the room and watched the interaction as best as she could.

"Oh my god. Hi, I'm Kate. Wow. You're here," Kate gushed when she finally came face to face with Santana. "I am like such a huge fan. I can't believe I'm finally meeting you. And now I'm ranting. Wow. I should stop"

Santana laughed and extended her hand, "Well it's nice to meet you, Kate. Did you enjoy the show?"

"It was so great. You were amazing out there," Kate said excitedly, quickly shaking the superstar's hand. "My girlfriend has never been the hugest fan of yours, so I knew when I got these tickets that I had to bring her and prove just how great you really are."

Santana seemed too look over Kate with more interest when she heard the word _girlfriend_. Brittany rolled her eyes at the action. Typical.

"Well I do hope I earned another fan, is she here too?" Santana asked politely. The blonde realized that the Latina must have had a multitude of serious conversations with a PR specialist to become so polite to a random stranger.

Brittany took a deep breath to prepare herself before slowly making her way towards the duo. Kate started to look around after Santana's question, and after spotting the blonde smiled and pointed. "She's right there."

Santana's gaze flickered towards Brittany's direction, and the blonde watched as the superstar's face fell, losing every ounce of her carefully constructed façade. The Latina's mouth opened and closed several times.

When Brittany finally stood before the two women, she looked Santana somberly in the eyes before softly muttering, "Hi, Santana…"

Kate, blissfully unaware of the awkward nature of the encounter, began, "This is-"

"Britt, I knew it was you," Santana breathed out as she started to step forward.

The blonde held up a hand, "Don't. Please. Just don't come closer." The words seemed to crash down upon Santana and a devastated expression overtook her features.

"What? How did you know…" Kate trailed off confused, looking quickly between the two women entirely focused on each other.

Brittany tore her gaze from the Latina and looked over to her girlfriend with an expression that reeked of guilt. "Please don't be mad, Kate," she said with her head lowered.

"Your _girlfriend_ doesn't even know that you _know_ me?" Santana asked, hurt lacing through her voice.

Brittany raised her head, glaring into the Latina's eyes, "It's hard to talk about." At that Santana looked away ashamed, offering no contest.

"Wait, Britt, please tell me this is a sick joke. You seriously know _Santana Lopez_ and you've never told me?" Kate questioned, seeming entirely blindsided. "Are you going to explain to me how in the hell that happened?"

Brittany didn't miss the way Santana's eyes slimmed slightly when she heard Kate use a nickname for her. Santana let out a cruel laugh, and Brittany flinched, already knowing the superstar was going to fall back on her trusty bitchy personality to hide behind while she was vulnerable. "If _Britt_ was going to explain our history together, it would take _all_ night."

The blue-eyed blonde sent her a warning glare, and once again Santana looked away. "_Santana _and I..." Brittany began quietly, putting emphasis on the Latina's full name, "Well, she's kind of right. Santana was a huge part of my life until four years ago. I promise I'll tell you the full story when we're in private. But right now, I'm sorry but I need to have a private conversation with her. I wouldn't ask if it weren't important. _Please_."

Kate took a step back, a pained expression on her face. "Fine, I'll be at _home_," the brunette emphasized the last word, with a concerned glance towards Santana. Obviously she was starting to catch on, and felt the need to stake her claim. The Latina scoffed at the action. "I'll be waiting up for you. I'm taking the car, you can call a cab."

Brittany leaned down towards Kate and placed a light kiss on her lips, hating that even after all of those years, she still felt guilty doing it in front of Santana. The superstar looked away, a storm brewing in her eyes.

After Kate left the room, the reality of being next to Santana with no buffer seemed to slam into Brittany, and she felt her confidence abandon her. She let out a sigh, before slowly looking at the Latina. "Is there somewhere private we can talk?"

Santana raised a shaking hand to her hair to fix a nonexistent problem, and silently nodded. Brittany felt slightly better, knowing that Santana was obviously just as nervous about talking to her as she was. The Latina walked over to an official looking person and began talking quietly into their ear. After she finished, she looked back towards the blonde and gestured for her to follow, before walking out of the room.

Brittany passively followed Santana as she lead them through a maze of hallways, before stopping at one with cursive writing depicting _Santana Lopez_ on it. Quietly, the two filtered into the room, and Santana closed and locked the door behind them. "Britt -," she started, turning around.

"No, Santana. This time it's my turn to talk," Brittany spoke softly but with conviction. She gave herself a mental high five for seeming so well put together. "We both know that your reason for us breaking up was bologna. I had _one _semester left at Julliard; I mean we had already bought my plane ticket to move to LA. And you try and tell me it's about _long distance?_" The longer Brittany spoke the more emotional she became, and soon tears were pricking at her eyes threating to spill over. "You weren't just my girlfriend, you were my life long best friend. You were the first person I reached for when I broke my wrist in third grade. You held my pinky and walked me to my classes on the first day of school every year, knowing I would get lost otherwise. You always stood up for me, and made sure we were popular enough that I never had to worry about being bullied. I have never loved anyone like I loved you, Santana. But you left me." At those words Brittany began crying in full.

Santana slumped to the floor, looking at Brittany with a devastated expression, tears falling without contest from her eyes. In any other scenario it would kill the blonde to know that she was the cause of such heartbreak, but she had waited four years to finally resolve things with Santana and she couldn't waste the opportunity now. "You told me a bold faced lie to my face and left, without even letting me get a word in. You even changed your number so I couldn't call you to beg you to come back, to try and give us a chance to work things out. I've waited _four_ years to even have a chance to respond."

"I… I couldn't have let you say anything," Santana uttered softly, her voice cracking under emotion. "If I had heard even one word, I couldn't have left you. I couldn't take the chance."

"Why, Santana? I think I finally deserve to know the reason why you left," Brittany demanded bitterly, taking a step towards the broken woman in front of her.

"I wanted to protect you!" Santana finally screamed as she stood up and stared at the blonde with a hard expression. "Don't you remember what happened at dinner that night?" The Latina questioned darkly.

"I remember _everything_ about that night," Brittany husked resentfully, "Those two rednecks called us dykes. So what? They were just jealous 'cause we're hot, and they couldn't touch."

"_So what_?" Santana questioned manically, "I couldn't even take you out on a date without the world shoving ignorance in your face. Do you seriously think I wanted that life for you? There wasn't any hope for me. I'm one hundred percent lesbian. But you're Bisexual, you could still be with a guy. You could still have a normal life: get married, have kids."

"A _guy?_ Why the _fuck _would I want to be with a guy when I had you? _We_ could have still gotten married. Still had kids," Brittany screamed hysterically, putting her face within inches of the Latina. Santana's eyes went wide at the abnormal curse. "You've always treated me like I'm some precious piece of art made of glass. But I'm not. Yeah, it hurts that some people are ignorant of love, but that's their problem, not mine. I was living my life, and I was _happy_, Santana. Being with you made me happy."

"I'm sorry! It was rash, but I hated putting you through that," Santana responded, her eyes turning miserable. "It didn't even fucking work. You still have a girlfriend. I tried to protect you and I just turned everything to shit for no reason. It has been the single biggest regret of my entire life. All of this money and all of this fame has done _nothing_ to stop my heart from beating for you every single minute of every single day. I thought that it would pass with time, but it hasn't. I still feel just as miserable without you as I did the minute I walked out. I miss my best friend. I miss you." Santana lunged forward and wrapped both arms around the blonde, burying her head into the dancer's neck, and caused both women to crumble into crying hysterics.

Brittany held on to the superstar with every ounce of strength she had, breaking down in Santana's arms as she allowed every stored emotion from the past four years escape. It was hard for her to believe that Santana had left her for such a seemingly inconsequential reason, but it was such a relief to finally have the answer to her question of why. The two women stayed that way until their sobs slowly subsided.

"I know I fucked up. And I know you have another girlfriend now. But I can't walk away from you again, Britt," Santana mumbled into Brittany's shirt, never lifting her head. "I need you back in my life again, in any way you'll take me."

The blonde sighed and took a step back, disentangling herself from Santana. "I would love to have you as a friend again but I need time, Santana. This is a lot to take in. I can't just rush into all of this again and then have you leave. My sanity couldn't take it." Brittany was purposefully using the superstar's full name, trying to still maintain some distance.

"Britt, I couldn't-," Santana began hurriedly, but the blonde held up a hand to silence her.

"I have to go by actions this time, and not words," Brittany explained softly, her eyes showing her vulnerability. She walked over to a desk in the room topped with stationary and pens, and quickly jotted something down. "This is my number," she explained softly, as she handed the sheet to a now smiling Santana. "You can start by calling me some time."

Brittany started to walk out of the room but Santana called out, stopping her in her tracks. "Britt… you should know, I couldn't take losing you again either."

The blonde turned and gave the superstar a small smile before forcing herself to walk out of the room, hoping desperately that she hadn't just seen the last of Santana Lopez.

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**A/N: **If you liked this latest chapter, don't forget to review/favorite.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. I have a pretty light load this semester so I _should_ be fairly regular with updates. My tumblr url is theorganicscientist. But enough about me, let's get back to our favorite blonde and brunette.

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Brittany was standing near the stadium parking lot that was still filled with people, looking up the number for a cab on her phone when a deep masculine voice broke through her concentration.

"Miss Pierce?"

The blonde looked up and found the source of the voice to be a tall good looking African-American man dressed sharply in a perfectly form fitting suit. "Yes?" she asked, confused.

The man laughed, a large smile splitting his face, "I am so glad I finally found you. I've asked at least four other women who I thought met the requirement of, and I quote, 'ridiculously hot tall blonde with legs that go for miles'. My name is Anderson," he said while pulling out papers to prove the next statement, "I'm Miss Lopez's personal driver. She asked for me to take you back to your home personally." He extended a large hand in the blonde's direction.

Brittany shook his hand and gave him a wry smile, "Not even twenty minutes back in my life, and she's already gone back to being over protective, huh?"

Anderson let out a loud laugh, "I mean I wasn't going to say anything, but I was scared for my life if I didn't find you. I was with her when she remembered you had to take a cab home, and I'm surprised her eyes didn't bust out of her head." He led the blonde over to an all black CLS-class coup Mercedes-Benz, and opened the back door, allowing Brittany inside before walking around to the front and getting in.

"So you live here in LA right?"

Brittany, completely awe inspired by the minimum hundred thousand dollar car she was now sitting in, took a moment to answer, "Oh… yeah. I'm at 5200 Wilshire Blvd." Anderson smiled and started driving.

Brittany's ringtone filled the car and she swiftly pulled it out of her pocket and saw an unknown number.

"…Hello?" she answered it hesitantly.

"Hi…" the husky tones belonging to Santana filtered from the phone, "Anderson found you right?"

"Yeah, I'm sitting in the back of your car that could buy me a small house as we speak," Brittany responded with a smile.

"Good. I know when you said for me to call you, you probably meant tomorrow or something… but I couldn't stand the idea of you thinking I wouldn't call." Santana's voice turned soft. The tone Brittany only heard when the Latina was speaking to her. "Earlier you got your turn to speak, so I just wanted to say a small part of my own. I mistakenly tried to be selfless before, and it only caused us both heartbreak. So now I'm going to be selfish, and what I want is you, Brittany S. Pierce. You're all I've ever wanted. I just have a kind of bad way of showing it sometimes. Seeing you again tonight made me realize that I had just been surviving over the last four years, not living."

Brittany wiped at her eyes, relishing in hearing all the words she dreamed she would for the last four years, "It means a lot to hear that, but what I said earlier still stands. I have to see actions too."

"I know… So you'll get those too. I'll do _anything_ for you, Britt. So I'm not going to say goodbye to end this conversation. I'm just going to say see you later, because I will."

"Ok," Brittany answered softly.

"So… I'll see you later."

"I hope so," Brittany hit the end button and leaned her head back onto the headrest, letting a few tears fall. The blonde felt emotionally exhausted already, and she still had to go and explain how she knew Santana to Kate. That probably wasn't going to be a very fun conversation.

"You must be pretty special to Miss Lopez," Anderson spoke up, his voice ringing of sincerity. "I know she's my boss and everything, but I would say that we've become more like friends now. So I don't think she'd mind me telling you that in all the years I've been her driver, never once has she asked me to drive for anyone alone outside of her or her family."

Brittany looked at his reflection in the rear view and give him a sad smile, "San always did seem to make me the exception."

For the next few minutes, the ride was silent except for the soft music from the radio playing. When one of Santana's most popular songs came on the radio, Brittany lurched forward and used the rear control to turn it off. Anderson looked at her questioningly, his eyebrows high on his head.

"Sorry," Brittany said in a muted voice, looking out the window, "old habits die hard."

When they arrived at her apartment, Anderson got out and quickly walked over to Brittany's door to open it for her.

"Thanks, Anderson. You really didn't have to do this," the blonde said, pulling out her purse to try and find a tip.

"Woah there, you don't need to tip me," the tall man laughed out, "I _might_ have died if I didn't find you, but it would be pretty certain if I took your money. Don't worry about it. Miss Lopez pays me very well. It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Pierce."

"Next time we see each other, it's Brittany, Ok?" Brittany stuck out her hand, smiling.

"Deal, but only when it's just the two of us. Our secret." Anderson grinned and took her hand, giving it a polite shake.

After he left, the blonde sullenly turned around and trudged up to her apartment, not at all looking forward to the situation she was surely about to be in. A pout took up permanent residence on her face. When she walked into the apartment she saw Kate sitting at their kitchen table, staring pensively into her red wine.

Brittany walked into the kitchen and poured a wine glass for herself before sitting next to Kate at the table. "Hi…"

"Hi? Really, Brittany?" Kate questioned angrily, hazel eyes glaring into blue, "Honestly, I don't want to hear another word out of your mouth unless it's part of the explanation of what in the hell just happened."

Brittany's back bridled at being talked to like a child, but she relented and began, "Well… I've always known Santana. We met on the first day of kindergarten and immediately were inseparable. She was my best friend. She always looked out for me, all the way until my last semester at Julliard. She never let anyone make fun of me for being silly or having a duck and unicorn obsession. Any time someone from our hometown would talk about us, it was never just about one of us. We were always 'Brittany and Santana', because any time one of us would be involved the other would be too," Brittany stared at her wine glass, her fingers running circles around its top.

"But you weren't just best friends, were you?" Kate asked, her jaw clinched.

Brittany looked at her sadly, "No. We kissed for the first time when we were thirteen. San claimed it would help us get better for our real kisses with boys. But after that point, it didn't seem to matter how many boys we kissed, we always came back to each other." The blonde smiled ruefully at the memory, "We were each others firsts when we were fifteen. I always accepted it for what it was; I loved her. But Santana had this horrible time accepting she was in love with a girl. She went through a phase where she slept with almost any guy that looked at her. Trying to achieve with them what she had with me because that's what was supposed to be normal. But she never could, and after every failed attempt she would show up crying at my window and I'd hold her until she slept. Eventually she convinced herself that it wasn't bad to fool around with me, as long as no one knew and no feelings were involved." Brittany took a long draught of her wine.

"But she's so open about being gay now," Kate attested, seeming confused.

Brittany laughed bitterly, "_That_ took so much work. We were juniors before she finally admitted to me she was in love with me, and seniors before she came out. We got to go to senior prom together as an official couple," the blonde smiled at the memory. "When I got accepted to study dance at Julliard, she decided to study music at NYU. But after the first year, she got this great opportunity for her career in LA, so she left. Not being together wasn't an option, so we did the long distance thing for the next few years. Obviously not being able to see her in person was sucky, but we made it work. I was still so happy with her. We bought my plane ticket for me to move out there with her after I graduated, but after one of her visits when I only had a semester left, she broke up with me, saying that the distance was too much. It was a blatant lie, but she left before I could say anything or find out the real reason. She took away any route I had to contact her. I was so confused, and so heartbroken. I never saw her again after that, until tonight. Tonight marks four years, three months, and ten days since she left me."

Kate looked entirely shell shocked at the full story. "Did you at least get the real reason she left tonight?"

Brittany smiled despite herself, "Yeah… I did."

"Do you still love her?"

The blonde looked up sadly, "I love _you._"

"But what about her?" Kate pressed.

"I do," Brittany said slowly, avoiding eye contact. "I've always loved San, and I always will, but I'm not _in_ love with her anymore. Santana just has to settle with only being friends now. I'm with you."

Kate sighed and pressed her fingers to her temples. "I need some time to think about all of this. I don't like that you've been keeping something this huge from me. We've dated for a year and a half. I feel like I should have known about this."

"We both know this wouldn't be as big of a deal if she wasn't famous," Brittany muttered bitterly, "we all have those people in our past that we don't want to talk about, and Santana is mine." The pout returned to the blonde's face, "can we please just drop this now and go to bed? I'm exhausted."

Kate reluctantly conceded and while she was in the bathroom getting ready for bed, Brittany looked down at her phone and saw she had a new message.

11:45PM FROM: SANTANA

_I hope you have dreams as sweet as you are._

A small, but genuine, smile split the blonde's face at the text. She quickly typed out a response.

11:50PM TO: SANTANA

_Maybe now I can. Sleep tight._

The smile turned a little more rueful at the 'sleep tight'. It was what she used tell the Latina every night since they started texting, long before they dated. Saying goodnight with anything but those words just didn't seem right though. Brittany hit send before she could overthink the short message more than she already was.

Later in the night, when Kate was curled up against her, Brittany couldn't stop herself from wishing her arms were wrapped around someone else. Someone else named Santana Lopez.

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**A/N: **As per usual, if you liked this chapter I always enjoy hearing about it. Favorite/review!


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **I hope you guys like this new chapter. Thanks so much for all of the positive feedback, it definitely speeds up the writing process.

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When Brittany woke up the next morning, Kate was still sleeping. The blonde grabbed her cellphone from the nightstand next to her, and quietly slipped out of the bed, careful not to jostle the slumbering woman. She shuffled her way to her kitchen, checking her phone as she went.

7:56AM FROM: SANTANA

_Good Morning. Text me when you get up._

Brittany had almost thought that yesterday was a dream, but no, there was the proof. Santana Lopez was officially back in her life. Her heart picked up at the thought.

8:23AM TO: SANTANA

_Morning. I'm up._

The blonde made herself a cup of coffee, and the instant the hot liquid touched her tongue, her phone dinged, signaling a new text.

8:25AM FROM: SANTANA

_Do you have plans today? I have a day off since I just had that concert last night._

Brittany hesitated. Did she have plans? Kind of. Normally on Saturdays she and Kate would go for a run together after they both woke up, and then grab lunch at the diner down the street. The blonde bit her lip, contemplating.

8:27AM TO: SANTANA

_I'm probably going to go for a run with Kate, and then we're grabbing lunch together. Maybe after that? _

As much as Brittany wanted to see Santana that instant, she couldn't just start blowing off Kate simply because the Latina superstar decided that she wanted to be back in her life. She couldn't put all of her bunnies in one bucket. Or was it basket? Was it even bunnies? Her dinging phone distracted her from her internal semantics debate.

8:28AM FROM: SANTANA

_Oh… Ok. Um… How about 2:30? I wish we could go for coffee or something, but we wouldn't be able to get any privacy from my fans. Would my house be ok? _

Brittany could tell Santana was disappointed that she was planning on hanging out with Kate.

8:29AM TO: SANTANA

_2:30 is great. I'll need your address though. Kate doesn't like me driving her car, so I'll grab a cab._

8:30AM FROM: SANTANA

_Funny, Britt. I'll be at your apartment at 2:30 to pick you up. _

Brittany rolled her eyes, knowing it was no use arguing with the Latina.

8:31AM TO: SANTANA

_I'll see you then. _

Almost immediately after she sent the text, two arms wrapped around her from behind. "Morning, babe," Kate mumbled out, leaning around Brittany and stealing her coffee. "Mmm, thanks."

The blonde's bottom lip poked out, pouting, "I wasn't done with that."

Kate winked at her and walked away, sipping the stolen coffee as she went, "Come on, lets get our running clothes on, Britt."

Brittany followed her into the bedroom, before looking down and scuffing her foot softly against the carpet, "Um… So after we get lunch, I'm going to go meet with Santana. She has the day off, and wants to try and clear the air between us I guess."

Kate's back tensed, and she slowly turned around with a hard expression, "I don't know if I'm ok with that."

Brittany sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, "Kate, I've never once given you trouble about you staying friends with _your_ ex. It's not my business as long as you're just friends. Please just let this one go. We're still following our routine. I'm getting lunch with you, not her." Kate's jaw tensed but she nodded, and the two women finished getting dressed in silence.

Brittany felt guilty every time she did it, but she found herself looking repeatedly at the clock throughout the rest of her morning and lunch with Kate. She tried to stay present and active in her conversations with her girlfriend, but every few minutes she would drift away in her mind, thinking about what was going on with Santana, and completely forget to respond, causing the short brunette to huff in annoyance.

At 2:15, Kate left the apartment to go to the grocery and Brittany let out a silent sigh of relief that she wouldn't have to watch her interact with Santana. The blonde needed to figure things out completely with the Latina before she let her interact with her girlfriend again. Ten minutes after Kate walked out of the door, a loud knocking echoed through the apartment. A smile split Brittany's face, and she bounced over to the door and pulled it open.

Santana was standing there in all of her glory, a genuine smile stretching across her features at the sight of the blonde. The Latina was wearing a cream colored blouse with a gray pencil skirt, accentuated with tall gray high heels. A large billowy hat obstructed much of her face and she had on large sunglasses.

Brittany laughed at the superstar's obvious attempt at remaining incognito. "I didn't know the Spy vs. Spy convention was in town, let me go get my hat. I call dibs on the black one," She threw the diva a mischievous smile and moved to walk back into the apartment when Santana grabbed her arm and rolled her eyes.

"ha ha, Britt. Laugh it up. We'll see if you're still laughing when the paparazzi come banging on your door trying to find out how you know me," the Latina said, looking around as if they were like Beetlejuice, and just speaking about the paparazzi would make them appear.

"Wanna say it two more times and see if it works?" Brittany asked with a wry smile.

Santana huffed but couldn't stop her smile from reappearing at the blonde's joke. They had watched that movie together dozens of times when they were younger, and _pretended_ to watch it when they were older. Brittany had to immediately push away the thoughts of exactly what she and the Latina used to do together when they would have those pretend movie nights.

"Well, are you ready?" Santana asked, breaking through the blonde's reverie.

Brittany nodded in response, as she quickly closed and locked the apartment door behind her. Santana hastily walked down the hallway, glancing suspiciously around, while the blonde made no attempt to match her pace and fell into her usual routine of watching the superstar walk. Brittany's eyes traveled down the Latina's body and she had to stop herself from sighing when they landed on Santana's plump behind. Arousal flooded her system, causing Brittany to clinch her hands and force herself look away. God she had missed that ass.

Brittany scolded herself at the thought; they were only trying to be friends now. Santana didn't get to leave her for four years and then get off scot-free. Their extensive history together gave Santana the opportunity to explain herself, but the blonde still had so many questions that needed answers before she could even think of truly letting her guard down around the Latina again.

When the two women made it outside, Anderson was leaning against the Mercedes-Benz looking impeccable in a dark grey suit. Brittany greeted him with a wave, "Hi, Anderson."

The tall man looked up and smiled, "Good Afternoon, Miss Pierce." He strolled around the car and opened the door for her, before walking to its pair and opening it for Santana.

Once they were situated in the back seat, and Anderson had pulled away from the curb, Santana took off her hat and sunglasses, then leaned forward and turned on the radio.

"Wait. Can we please not listen to music?" Brittany asked hurriedly. Anderson looked at the blonde in the rear view mirror and gave her a sad smile.

"What?" Santana questioned, her eyebrows furrowed. "But you hate riding in a car with no music. The ride gets too boring for you if you can't upper body dance."

Brittany looked out of the window, feeling the Latina's searching gaze on her. "I promise I'll explain when we get to your house, but _please_ just turn it off."

"Ok," Santana responded softly. The music shut off and the car went silent until Santana seemed to work up the courage to speak again. "I got you this… well, actually Anderson walked in and bought it," the Latina held out a coffee to the blonde, "It's a caramel frap. Extra caramel, extra whipped cream, with rainbow sprinkles on top."

"I'd like to point out that I got the _most_ ridiculous looks ordering that drink, Miss Pierce," Anderson interjected, causing Brittany to laugh, thankful for the break from tension.

Brittany took the cup from Santana, making sure not to let their fingers touch. She wanted to keep their contact to a minimum for now; it helped her think clearer. The blonde took a long sip from the drink, and let out a sigh of contentment. "Ugh, San, this is just as good as always. Thanks," Brittany looked over and saw that the Latina was sporting a grin so large it looked like she won the lottery. "What? Do I have a sprinkle on my face or something?"

"You called me San." Santana stated simply, the huge smile never leaving her face.

Brittany looked away embarrassed. "No, please don't be embarrassed," the superstar told her, "I know you've been trying to avoid it. And it doesn't mean you have to start using it again now or anything. I've just _really _missed hearing you say that." Brittany gave her a small smile, thankful that Santana wasn't pushing her.

The car pulled into a covered driveway blocked by a large gate. A guard approached, and Anderson rolled down the window and showed his official ID before the uniformed man opened the gate and waved them past. When they arrived at the house, Brittany let out a gasp, while stepping out of the car. "Are you _freaking _kidding me?" she looked over at Santana with disbelieving eyes. The diva lifted one eyebrow and gave a smug shrug in response.

To say the house was beautiful would be like comparing Michelangelo's 'The Creation of Adam' to a finger painting. Obviously it was huge, Brittany hadn't seen many mansions before, but this definitely classified as one of them. It looked like something straight out of the 1920s, all white with tall columns at its front. Perfectly groomed vines grew up lattices along its sides.

"Come on, let's go inside." Santana said, pulling on Brittany's hand to lead her inside. She quickly let go when the blonde flinched at the touch. The Latina gave her a sad smile, "We obviously have a lot to talk about."

Understatement of the century, Brittany thought as the mansion's doors swung shut behind her.

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**A/N: **The next chapter should be pretty angsty. Just a heads up. If you liked this chapter, let me know by reviewing/favoriting/following.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **Hi everyone, I hope you all like this latest update. I wrote it kinda fast, so i'm sorry if there are a few more errors than normal. Also, I used a song in this one, but don't get used to that happening in most chapters. I only know of one other case where I plan on using another song. Anyways, Enjoy!

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Santana guided Brittany into the large foyer before she turned and asked with hesitant eyes, "Do you mind if we just talk first before I give you the formal walk through of the house?" The Latina looked down towards her feet, playing with her hair, "I know it would be the only thing either of us would think about the whole time anyways… so we might as well just bite the bullet, right?"

Brittany nodded feeling relieved at the suggestion. Santana gestured for her to follow, before walking into an adjacent sitting room.

The room was tastefully decorated, with a love seat and two plush chairs. The Latina took a seat on the love seat, while Brittany chose a chair. Santana's lips clinched together, and a slight frown graced her face, obviously disappointed that the blonde hadn't sat with her. Brittany gave her an apologetic smile, but stayed where she was.

"So… I guess we can start by you explaining what you meant in the car? Why can't you listen to music when driving anymore?" Santana asked slowly, as if she were afraid of the answer.

Brittany looked away and bit her lip. "It's not so much music while driving, as it is just the radio in general now. Music where I can't decide what's going to be playing," at Santana's still mildly confused look, she continued, "your songs are like really popular, if you hadn't noticed. It doesn't matter what station I put it on, you always seem to pop up." The blonde took a deep breath and continued, knowing that she had to tell the whole story. "Right at the beginning of you getting so famous, I was sitting in a car with one of my friends when your song came on the radio. I asked them to turn it off, but they didn't because they liked it. It was the first time I heard one of your songs and couldn't run away… and… well, I had a panic attack that lasted sixteen minutes. So I couldn't really listen to the radio after that."

Brittany finally forced herself to glance at Santana, but immediately regretted the decision. The Latina looked altogether devastated: she was hunched over with her face covered by her hands, her fingers seemed to be digging into the skin. "I… gave you a panic attack?" Santana finally husked out, her voice full of self-loathing.

"Its not like you meant to, San," Brittany reasoned, "I'm ok now. I know my limits."

Santana jumped up from the chair, her eyes wide, "Your _limits_, Britt? You shouldn't have to keep yourself from listening to thefucking radio." The Latina began to pace around the room, "I can't believe I ever thought that _leaving_ you was the best way to give you a happy life." Santana knelt on the floor before Brittany, her eyes pleading, "Please, Britt, you have to know that's the _only_ reason why I've made myself stay away."

"Stay away?" Brittany asked, confused, "How could you stay away from me if you didn't even know where I was?" Santana looked away ashamed, but didn't leave her position at Brittany's feet. "Santana, answer me." The blonde pleaded.

The Latina looked up at her, miserable, "I found you a year ago," she said softly. "I hired a private investigator. I was so pathetic without you, Britt. Yeah, I put on a confident face for the camera's and my fans, but in reality I became depressed without you in my life." Santana leaned forward and picked up one of Brittany's hands, and began lightly running her fingers over it. "When the PI gave me your address, I couldn't believe that you were living not even twenty minutes from me. It was around dinner, and I drove straight to your apartment building and just sat in my car, praying that I would see you." The Latina's eyes turned rueful, "And I did. You were so beautiful, Britt, just like always. You were just wearing some jeans and your Julliard sweatshirt you always loved, but I couldn't take my eyes off of you. Right when I was about to get out of my car, I noticed you weren't alone. You were holding the hand of this beautiful brunette and you were both smiling." Santana closed her eyes, but tears still pushed their way past, "You had moved on. I couldn't take that from you. So I left, trying to convince myself that I would have to settle with being miserable on my own. That was the night I wrote 'Goodbye my Lover'. I never thought it would become my biggest song, I just had to get the words out."

"I've never heard it," Brittany admitted sheepishly, "The title alone scared me enough."

"I do have one question," Santana asked, looking into Brittany's eyes. "Why did you still move to LA?"

Brittany smiled bitterly, "Hope, I guess. I didn't have any other way to find you. So I figured I had a much better chance at randomly bumping into you if I at least lived in the same city."

"You were right though," Santana said softly, looking down at Brittany's hand that she was still holding, "you found me."

Brittany laughed genuinely at that, "The thousands of screaming fans did give me a small hint."

Santana grinned playfully and shrugged, "Remind me to thank them."

The blonde softly extracted her hand from the Latina's, "So did the Private Investigator see the leprechaun that's been stealing from my fridge?" she joked with a straight face, trying to lessen the blow of removing the contact. When Santana smiled, she continued, "but really, what all did they tell you about me now?"

The Latina looked embarrassed, "I know you own a dance studio that specializes in helping special needed and physically disabled children get the chance to dance. Which I am so unbelievably proud of you for, by the way." Santana grinned at her, "It fits you so perfectly. I bet you love it."

Brittany smiled nostalgically, "I do. I can't wait to get to work every day. You should see their faces, San. It's like I get to give them the best hour of their day. _So_ many of them are huge fans of yours. I always feel so bad when I can't be in the room when they dance to your songs." The blonde didn't miss the apologetic look Santana threw at her, but she continued, "I mean it hasn't been all stars and unicorns though. A lot of the parents have so many medical bills to deal with, that they can't always afford to pay for the dance lessons. I can't take it away from the kids, so I run under a pay when you can policy, which used to make it pretty tough around the time that bills were due. I thought we were going to have to close for a while. But then eight months or so ago, we got this huge anonymous donation," Brittany's face split into a huge grin at the memory. It was one of the best days of her life when she realized they could stay open for at least the next ten years. "It was so much that I've never had to worry about closing again. And I don't even know who did it..."

Santana shifted uncomfortably, and Brittany's gaze instantly zeroed in on her, calculating. When the Latina looked down at her nails, the blonde gasped and jumped up, "Oh my god, San, it was _you_ wasn't it?" The superstar still refused to look up. "_Santana_!" Finally Santana looked up, a guilty expression exuding from her face, and Brittany had all the evidence she needed. She lunged forward, pulling her former lover into a bone-crushing hug, tears quickly forming. "_Thank you_," the blonde husked out, burying her face into the crook of Santana's neck. "I don't know how I'll make it up to you, but I will."

Brittany could feel Santana vibrating into the hug, obviously overcome with some emotion. "I just wanted you to be happy, Britt. If it made you happy, then that's all I need." The Latina choked out, causing Brittany to pull back and look at her, seeing tears overflowing in her dark brown eyes. "It feels _so_ good to have you hug me on your own," Santana explained helplessly.

Brittany smiled sympathetically, "How about you show me around this place, now?"

Santana nodded, seeming relieved at the change in subject, and grabbed Brittany's hand pulling her out of the room.

Almost two hours later, Brittany was sprawled out on Santana's expensive couch, trying to catch her breath, "I feel like I just ran a marathon," she groaned out.

A muffled laugh came from the floor next to the sofa, where the Latina was laying out in similar manner, "Well it wasn't _my_ idea to race around the entire estate. Plus, you're just being a sore loser. I _told_ you that my personal trainer had turned me into the female version of Usain Bolt."

Brittany's only response was to huff and grab a pillow from the couch and bring it down blindly against the floor next to her, grinning when she heard Santana gasp at its impact. The blonde looked down at her watch and saw that it was almost 6:30; she sighed, standing up.

Santana looked at her when she moved, and a sad look immediately graced her features, "You're leaving."

Brittany nodded somberly, "I told Kate I would be back for dinner at 7." She reached up to her neck and rubbed it uncomfortably, knowing she had to start a serious conversation. "I want to try and be your friend again, Santana. But it can only just be friends. I know that's all you've said that you want, but I know us. We've never really been _just_ friends before, so I know it's going to be an adjustment. Even when I was with other people before, we were still together. It can't be like that again. I _won't _cheat on Kate."

Santana sighed, resigned. "I don't want to do anything that would put you being in my life in jeopardy, Britt. I know you just need me to be your friend. So that's what I'll be. Hell, I'll even _try_ to play nice with your girlfriend." At Brittany's skeptical look, Santana laughed, "I said try. I can't help that no one else is good enough for you. You're the most perfect person I know, BrittBritt." Brittany smiled bashfully.

Santana sent a text to Anderson and the two women walked to the driveway, chatting inconsequentially until the car pulled up. At the sight of the car, Brittany started to breathe faster, realizing that she was about to leave Santana. What if Santana didn't keep her promise, and this would be the very last time the two spoke?

Santana seemed to notice the blonde's panic, and laid a hand on her forearm, trying to calm her, "I promise there will be a next time, Britt," the Latina said softly, obviously reading Brittany's mind. "I told you, I'm being selfish now. So you'll see me so much that I'm sure you're going to get sick of me."

Anderson opened the door for Brittany, and the blonde took a small step towards the car before turning around, "I'll see you later" she said, still seeming incredibly hesitant.

"Yeah, Britt, you'll see me later." Santana answered confidently.

Brittany waved once she was in the car, and she twisted around in the back seat and watched the estate grow smaller as they drove away.

Once Brittany arrived back at the apartment, Kate greeted her immediately; she was incredibly curious as to how her time with Santana went. Brittany told her most of the inconsequential things but chose to leave out the information about Santana being the anonymous donor, and her hiring a PI to find the blonde. Brittany felt as if that was too personal for Santana to share. After dinner, the two curled up on the couch and watched a movie. Brittany tried to pay attention, she really did, but all of the information she had learned that day was taking up too much space in her brain for anything else to function.

Kate noticed the blonde's distracted behavior, so she stood up and extended a hand to her, "Come on, babe. You've obviously had a long day. Lets just go to bed."

Brittany gave her a thankful smile, and took her girlfriends hand, allowing herself to be helped up from the couch. The two women walked back towards the bedroom, and once Brittany had readied herself for bed she saw a rectangular object on Kate's dresser that made her stop cold.

"I'll be back in a minute, babe," Brittany called out, before grabbing the object and walking back out to the den. She sat down on the couch and turned the object on. It was Kate's iPod, and when she saw it all she could think of was that song Santana said she wrote for her after the Latina saw her with Kate a year ago. Brittany put the headphones on, before clicking play on the song. Soft piano filtered from the speakers, and the blonde could already feel tears pricking at her eyes the moment she heard Santana's raspy voice.

_Did I disappoint you or let you down?  
__Should I be feeling guilty or let the judges frown?  
__'Cause I saw the end before we'd begun,  
__Yes I saw you were blinded and I knew I had won.  
__So I took what's mine by eternal right.  
__Took your soul out into the night.  
__It may be over but it won't stop there,  
__I am here for you if you'd only care.  
__You touched my heart you touched my soul.  
__You changed my life and all my goals.  
__And love is blind and that I knew when,  
__My heart was blinded by you.  
__I've kissed your lips and held your hand.  
__Shared your dreams and shared your bed.  
__I know you well, I know your smell.  
__I've been addicted to you._

_Goodbye my lover.  
__Goodbye my friend.  
__You have been the one.  
__You have been the one for me._

_Goodbye my lover.  
__Goodbye my friend.  
__You have been the one.  
__You have been the one for me._

Brittany made no attempt to stay the tears that were flowing constantly. Why did Santana have to leave her all those years ago? None of this should have happened. They should still be living together and happy. Brittany listened to every word as the song picked up again.

_I am a dreamer and when I wake,  
__You can't break my spirit - it's my dreams you take.  
__And as you move on, remember me,  
__Remember us, and all we used to be  
__I've seen you cry, I've seen you smile.  
__I've watched you sleeping for a while.  
__I'd be the mother of your child.  
__I'd spend a lifetime with you.  
__I know your fears and you know mine.  
__We've had our doubts but now we're fine,  
__And I love you, I swear that's true.  
__I cannot live without you._

_Goodbye my lover.  
__Goodbye my friend.  
__You have been the one.  
__You have been the one for me._

_Goodbye my lover.  
__Goodbye my friend.  
__You have been the one.  
__You have been the one for me._

_And I still hold your hand in mine.  
__In mine when I'm asleep.  
__And I will bare my soul in time,  
__When I'm kneeling at your feet._

_Goodbye my lover.  
__Goodbye my friend.  
__You have been the one.  
__You have been the one for me._

_Goodbye my lover.  
__Goodbye my friend.  
__You have been the one.  
__You have been the one for me._

_I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow.  
__I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow.  
__I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow.  
__I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow._

Hollow? Yeah. Hollow is accurate, Brittany thought bitterly, her mind in shambles after the song. One thing was certain though: she had lied to Kate. Brittany S. Pierce was still hopelessly in love with Santana Lopez.

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**A/N:** If you liked this chapter favorite/review/follow. It helps provide motivation to write the next one! Also, my tumblr is: theorganicscientist. The song is 'Goodbye my Lover' By James Blunt, the only change i made was 'father' to 'mother'.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **Not gonna lie, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. These kids are just too cute. Hope you guys like it!

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"Miss Brittany!" a chorus of shrill voices filled the room, followed by the slapping of feet against soft rubber. The tall blonde dancer was immediately enveloped in a huge group hug.

"Hi guys," Brittany laughed out, "everyone ready for today's lesson?"

"Yes!" all of the surrounding children yelled out, many jumping in place.

"Alright, I've made a dance for the winner of last week's song vote and the winner is…" the blonde trailed off, allowing the suspense to build, "Firefly's by Owl City!"

An ensemble of cheers rose from the children that voted for the song, but one little girl named Emily who had Down's Syndrome marched up to Brittany with a pout on her face. "But I wanted Santana," she begged, her bottom lip poking out.

Brittany knelt down to the little girl's height and grinned at her, "Come here," she beckoned "Let me tell you a secret." Emily leaned forward, smiling in anticipation; "We're dancing to her song next week."

"Yay!" Emily screamed out, throwing her arms around the blonde. Brittany picked her up and twirled her around before setting her back down.

"No telling though, it's our secret," she whispered with a playfully stern face. Emily nodded and ran over to her friends, gushing the news. Squeals filled the air, causing Brittany to laugh and roll her eyes.

The blonde waved at the parents standing along the back wall of the room before she quickly pulled out her phone and sent Santana a quick text.

3:32 PM TO: SAN :)

_Add another class to the tally of someone being upset we aren't dancing to one of your songs. ;) I'll text you when it's over. Should be an hour. _

The phone buzzed in her hand before she could set it down.

3:32 PM FROM: SAN :)

_LOL. I'll have to come meet them one day. And ok, have fun! I have a surprise for you when you get out. _

It had been three weeks since Brittany had visited Santana's home for the first time, and the two had stayed in almost constant contact, quickly falling back into their best friend routine. However, Brittany hadn't had a chance to see Santana since that day, as the superstar had left for her tour around the United Kingdom the day after. Strangely enough, the distance had made the two grow closer, because Santana put so much obvious effort into maintaining contact with the blonde throughout the entire ordeal. Brittany woke up every morning to a 'Good Morning', fell asleep to a 'Good Night', and the two skyped any time the superstar had a few moments to herself. Brittany had asked to see action, and Santana was fulfilling that requirement with flying colors.

Kate, however, was progressively becoming less and less of a fan of Brittany's regrouping friendship with Santana. Any time she would see the blonde texting, whether or not it was to the Latina superstar, she would huff and send her a pointed look. The brunette completely stopped listening to the music of her former idol, and Santana quickly became a taboo subject in the household. Brittany had never seen this side of her girlfriend, since Santana had pretty much been her only ex that mattered, and she could honestly say that she wasn't a fan of this new trait. Sure, Brittany had realized that she was still in love with Santana, but that didn't mean she was about to go gallivanting off to be with her. She still loved Kate too, and had made every effort to keep their relationship at the top of her priority list. Brittany just wished that her girlfriend could see that.

Brittany put her phone away and herded the children into their spots before turning on the music and walking them through the very simple routine she had created for it. Many of them had balance issues, so every move was kept incredibly basic and slow, but all of the children still loved it. Parents of the children in motorized wheelchairs stood next to them and guided the chairs in similar motions, looks of pure contentment on their faces, while looking at their smiling children.

The time flew by and Brittany soon found herself announcing, "Sorry, guys! That's all for today. I had so much fun with all of you, and I can't wait until our next class." A chorus of unhappy protests arose, but Brittany continued, "You guys did so well today. You should all be super proud of yourselves. Now come give me a hug goodbye." A line of pouting children formed at her feet, and she gave each a hug, tickling some to make them smile. She waved the autistic children that had a phobia of physical contact, sticking her tongue out to them and smiled when they did it back in their signature interaction.

After all of the children and their parents left, Brittany stuck around cleaning up, making sure to thoroughly clean anything most of the kids touched. Many of them had weak immune systems, and she didn't want the studio to be a source of illness for them. Once she finished cleaning, she walked around the building, and poked her head into other classrooms and waved at her employee's and their students.

As she was walking out of the building, she stopped in her tracks, her face splitting into a smile a mile wide. A very familiar black Mercedes-Benz was parked in one of the spots near the back of the lot. Its back door opened, and Santana stepped out, smiling at Brittany. She was dressed casually with black high-topped nike's, dark jeans, a zip up dark grey sweatshirt with the hood up, and black ray ban's. Brittany ran forward and engulfed her in a hug, causing the Latina to laugh and wrap her arms around the tall blonde's neck. "So I take it you like the surprise?" Santana smirked and pulled away, gesturing for Brittany to get in the car.

"When the heck did you get back?" Brittany asked once she was in the back seat.

"This morning," Santana said with a smile, "I thought it would be fun to surprise you. Actions and all that."

"Fun? San, this is the best surprise ever!" Brittany squealed, vibrating with excitement. The blonde then remembered they weren't alone in the car, "Oh, and hi, Anderson, I missed you too," she said with an apologetic smile.

"Hello, Miss Pierce, it's good to see you again as well," he answered with a smile.

"So, Britt," Santana began, pulling the blonde's attention back to her, "I was wondering if you had time to go somewhere with me."

Brittany took a moment to think about it, before grinning and answering, "I don't have any plans until seven, what were you thinking?"

"Well, a couple of years ago I found this fairly empty park nearby that has this pond with all of these ducks in it, and it always made me think of you, so I was thinking…" the Latina trailed off and held up a loaf of bread from next to her in explanation.

Brittany squealed again, before she nodded energetically, "Oh my god, yes!"

"Well, Anderson, can you take us to my usual park?" Santana asked, still smiling at the blonde.

"Of course, Miss Lopez," Anderson answered as he put the car in drive.

"Oh and, Anderson, could you please turn on the radio?" Brittany asked with a small smile. Anderson gave her a large grin, and complied.

Santana gasped and twisted her entire body to look at the blonde next to her with wide eyes, "Really?" she asked unbelieving, "Are you going to be ok with that? I don't want you to do that if you're not ready, Britt."

Brittany smiled and put her hand over the Latina's to calm her, "I had a surprise for you too, San. Having you back in my life has made it so it doesn't really scare me to hear your songs anymore. I've made it my goal to listen to one new song of yours every night. The first few nights were really hard, but I think I've finally pushed past all of the fear of it." Brittany looked down to build up courage before she asked, "A lot of them are about us aren't they?"

Santana looked away bashfully, "Well, I wrote them, and you're pretty much always on my mind." The Latina inspected her nails, trying to find a reason to keep her eyes away from the blonde that could always see too much in them, "I didn't know that you couldn't listen to them. So I always thought they were kind of like my personal message to you, wherever you were. A lot of them were me begging you to find me and call me out on my bullshit, honestly," Santana said, finally looking at her with a sad smile.

Brittany squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Well, I've listened to them now," she said softly, but changed the subject knowing Santana wouldn't want to talk about it with someone else in the car, "But I want to hear about the UK." Santana complied, and the blonde listened to her talking enthusiastically about her trip, mentioning all of the fans she got to meet and places she went.

About fifteen minutes later, Anderson announced their arrival to the park, and the two women got out of the car, smiling bashfully at each other. Santana was right, Brittany thought while looking around the parking lot, this place was pretty empty: only one or two other cars were there. Santana walked up to Brittany and held out her pinky with weary eyes, obviously afraid of being rejected. The blonde felt tears pricking at her eyes as she wrapped her pinky around the Latina's and the women let them fall intertwined between them, smiling softly at each other. Santana led Brittany along an empty path, green light filtering through the leaves above them.

"This place is so beautiful, San," Brittany whispered out, not wanting to disturb the quiet around them.

"Well, now you know why I always associated it with you," Santana answered, looking confidently into the blonde's eyes.

Soft quacking could be heard in the distance, and Brittany looked at Santana with pleading eyes. The Latina laughed and nodded. The blonde grinned at her before taking off running down the path, stopping once she reached the pond. A smile of pure wonderment took over her face as she knelt, watching the dozens of ducks floating and quacking happily on the water's surface.

When Santana finally made it to the clearing, she silently handed the loaf of bread to the excited blonde. Brittany quickly tore a few slices apart and threw some of the pieces to the ducks closest to her, giggling happily as they were hastily gobbled up. A few of the more spatially aware ducks recognized that Brittany was the source of the food, and made their way to her quacking. The blonde dutifully gave each a piece, paying special attention to the babies of the groups.

Brittany felt Santana's eyes on her, causing her to turn and look at the dark haired woman. Dark eyes and blue ones stayed locked, neither woman wanting to look away from the faces they had both missed. Eventually the demanding quacks from in front of Brittany forced her to look away, and continue feeding the growing mob of ducks around her.

Eventually the blonde ran out of bread and she made her way to a bench along the side of the pond where the Latina had taken up residence. Once she sat down, Santana wordlessly leaned over and rested her head on Brittany's shoulder.

The two sat like that for a few minutes before Santana spoke up softly, "I _really_ missed you, B."

Brittany's heart melted, knowing the Latina didn't just mean over the last three weeks. "Me too, Sanny," she answered just as quietly, and she put her arm around the woman next to her, pulling Santana closer.

The two women sat like that for a countless amount of time. Entirely focused on each other, neither heard the soft shutter of a camera in the distance.

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**A/N:** As per usual, please review and tell me what you think about this latest chapter! Favorite/follow!


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **Here's to hoping everyone likes this latest update. Translations for the Dutch in this chapter are at the author's note at the bottom.

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It was the day after her trip to the park with Santana, and Brittany was lounging on her couch, aimlessly changing the channel on the TV trying to find something to catch her interest. The sound of her front door slamming shut made her jump, and she looked up to find her girlfriend glaring furiously at her.

"What's the matter, babe?" Brittany asked, standing up with a worried expression.

"The _matter_?" Kate spat at her, balling her hands into fists. "The matter, _Babe, _is that on the front page of _every_ magazine, they're talking about how cute _my _girlfriend looks with another woman."

"What?" Brittany was entirely confused. "Can you please just tell me what you're talking about?" The blonde begged.

Kate's only answer was to pull a magazine out of her bag and throw it down against the living room table. The headline '_Has Santana Lopez finally found love?' _quickly caught the blonde's eye. She slowly picked up the magazine and looked at it curiously.

There were three photos accompanying the headline, and each was from the day before at the lake. One showed the two women walking back to the parking lot, with their pinkies intertwined. The second was of them on the bench, with Santana leaning her head on Brittany's shoulder, looks of contentment gracing both of their faces. The third was Brittany's favorite though. It showed Brittany kneeling at the edge of the lake, her arm stretched out to feed a baby duckling, a look of wonderment on her face. Santana was standing off to the side with her eyes trained on the blonde, but what captivated Brittany the most about the photo was the Latina's expression. Santana was looking at her like she was the only thing in the world, her mouth turned up at one end. It was a look of pure and total love.

"Oh look inside," Kate husked resentfully, "It gets better."

Brittany glanced up at her hesitantly before she bit her lip and flipped the magazine open, and read the short article devoted to the pictures.

_Does our favorite bachelorette finally have a romantic interest? On November third, Santana was seen at an LA park cuddling with a mysterious blonde beauty. The two seemed to have gone on a romantic date to feed some local ducks, with Santana packing the bread. After defeating duck hunger, the couple got close and cuddly on a nearby bench for nearly thirty minutes. But we have to ask, who is this mystery woman that seems to have stolen our superstar's heart? She must be pretty special, as we've never seen Santana out in public on a date before. We don't blame Santana for having this woman catch her eye though, after all, every brunette needs a blonde! This date definitely goes down as one of the cutest we've seen. _

"Well they're obviously just confused," Brittany stated innocently, "I told you that Santana visited me after work yesterday."

Kate snatched the magazine from Brittany's hands, shaking it in front of the blonde's face, "Yeah, you told me she visited. Not that she took you out on a fucking date to feed the precious little ducks."

"It wasn't a date, Kate," The blonde said quietly, trying to calm her irate girlfriend, "Santana always used to take me to the park to feed the ducks when we were younger. It's like tradition or something."

"You _held hands, _Brittany!" Kate screamed, pointing at the photo for proof, "How in the hell do you think it makes me feel to see _my _girlfriend holding hands with another woman?"

"Kate, please, just listen," Brittany pleaded, placing her hands on her shaking girlfriend's shoulders, "We weren't holding hands. It's just our pinkies. We've done that since we were in first grade. It's one hundred percent just a best friend thing. I promise, the magazine just got it all wrong. I'm sorry I didn't specifically tell you that we went to the park, I just didn't think it was important."

Kate seemed to deflate a little at the blonde's touch, but looked away with her jaw clinched and took a few deep breaths through her nose before she spoke again, "I just really don't like it, Brittany. I don't know how I'm supposed to compete with a fucking international superstar."

Brittany looked at her sadly, "Please don't curse. It's not a competition, Kate. I'm with you. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"How many times will I have to see you on the cover of a magazine with another woman?" Kate retorted, but sighed afterwards and sat on the couch with her head in her hands. "I'm not good at this, Britt. I never have been."

Brittany smiled sympathetically at her girlfriend as she sat down on the couch next to her and began to rub soft soothing circles around her back. Sure, the blonde could understand Kate being angry, but she was tired of being constantly second-guessed and of Kate never letting her explain her side of things before she would blow up. Santana was back in the picture now, and Kate would just have to understand that. They were the dynamic duo. A two shot.

A loud knocking echoed through the apartment, causing Brittany to look at Kate in confusion, "Are you expecting anyone?" Her girlfriend shook her head, looking just as confused. Brittany hesitantly made her way to the door, silently praying that the paparazzi hadn't found her already. After she looked through the peephole, an enormous grin filled her features and she wrenched the door open.

"_Moeder_!" she screeched, as she flung her arms around what could be her mirror image.

"Surprise," her mother laughed out after the two separated.

There was no doubt where Brittany got her looks. Lisa E. Pierce was a stunningly beautiful tall blue-eyed blonde. Her lightly wrinkly face was the only indication of her forty-eight years.

"Well, geez, don't mind me," Brittany's father, who had been standing off to the side, huffed out jokingly with a slight Dutch accent.

Brittany rushed into his arms, giving him an equally large hug. "_Hoi, Pap." _

Luke A. Pierce completed the Dutch family look with his short blonde hair and light blue eyes. He had a slightly plump frame, with a gentle but handsome face.

"_Hoi, dochter,"_ he responded, placing a light kiss on her head before releasing her.

"What in the world are you guys doing here?" Brittany asked with wide eyes, jumping with excitement. Her parents still lived in her hometown of Lima, Ohio, so there was no reason she could think of for them to randomly show up at her doorstep.

"Your father has a convention for work here this weekend, and I convinced him to let me tag along," Lisa answered smiling up at her husband. "We wanted to surprise you."

Brittany giggled, "Well you definitely did." She gestured for her parents to enter the apartment, then suddenly remembered her girlfriend. "Kate! It's my parents!" the blonde yelled, and she could hear the quick shuffle of feet as her dark haired girlfriend appeared in the hallway.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Pierce," Kate said quietly with a nervous expression. She had met Brittany's parents on a few occasions before, but had never spent an excessive amount of time with them.

"Hello, Katie," Brittany's mother acknowledged. Brittany elbowed her with a pointed look, and Lisa corrected herself, "Oops, sorry. Kate. Not Katie. I always seem to mess that up, don't I?" Brittany rolled her eyes. Her mother knew Kate's name, she had just never taken a liking to any significant other after Santana. The blonde wasn't surprised really, her mother and Santana were basically the same person: tough on the exterior but fiercely loyal once you gained access to their heart.

"Oh, um… don't worry about it." Kate answered awkwardly, raising a hand to the back of her neck.

"It's wonderful to see you, Kate," Luke said while stepping forward and placing a light kiss on the brunette's cheek. Her father was where Brittany got her kind disposition; both of them preferring to find happiness in everyday life that others overlooked.

Brittany herded the group into the kitchen, where she poured a glass of water for each of her parents. "How long are you guys here for? Do you need somewhere to stay? I can make up the guest bedroom, do you want me to?" She gushed, still unable to keep the huge grin off of her face.

Lisa looked at her blonde daughter kindly, "Oh, _mijn zoeteke, _we would not make you house us. Your father's company has provided a hotel room. We're only staying until Thursday."

"But that's just two days," Brittany pouted, her lower lip jutting out.

Luke tapped the blonde's extended lip, and smiled at her, "That's two more days than you initially thought you had."

The three family members delved into conversation, while Kate sat back wordlessly. A frantic knocking emanated from the front door, causing Brittany to once again look around confused. Who the heck could it be this time? She was not about to let some nosy paparazzi jerk intervene with her time spent catching up with her parents. She stalked towards her front door and wrenched it open, about to give the person a stern talking to when she stopped.

"Oh… Hi, San," Brittany whispered out, taking in the Latina's frazzled appearance.

"Britt, I am _so _sorry. I had no idea that anyone would be taking pictures in that park. You have to believe me, I'd never try and expose-," Santana stopped talking immediately, her eyes zeroing in on something behind the blonde. Brittany looked over her shoulder and saw her mother standing in the hallway. The younger blonde stepped to the side and allowed Santana to pass.

The Latina stepped into the hallway wordlessly, eyes filling with tears as she walked up to the older blonde. Lisa's eyes had likewise started to fill. Both women stayed silent for a few moments until Santana broke, "_Mami P,_" she husked out, her voice breaking from emotion.

Lisa reached out and pulled Santana into a bone-crushing hug, cooing softly once the Latina broke into tears in her arms. "I sorry," Santana whimpered out, "I just wanted to protect her like always, and I was silly and I messed up. Please don't hate me. I've missed you so much."

Brittany felt her heart melt at the Latina's use of 'silly'. Santana had completely discarded the word 'stupid' from her vocabulary once she realized how much of an affect it had on Brittany.

By the time they were in third grade, Santana had already formed an incredibly close bond with Brittany's mother. The Latina always called Lisa '_Mami P', _an honor even her own mother didn't have. Although, to be fair, Lisa was far more of a mother to Santana than her own mother ever was. Santana's parents were incredibly career oriented, and often left the Latina home alone for days at a time. Whenever that would happen, Santana would arrive at the Pierce's doorstep and Lisa would wordlessly let her inside, placing a supportive hand on the young girl's shoulder as she went. Lisa's heart melted for the young girl that was so aggressively protective of her daughter, and she had come to think of Santana as her daughter in every right on her own. Each year on the first day of school, Lisa would hand Santana Brittany's class schedule, and the two would share a look of understanding, the older blonde having every confidence that the Latina would keep Brittany safe.

_"_Oh, _beertje_," Lisa cooed, using her usual nickname for the Latina. She ran her fingers through Santana's hair, "I could never hate you. I always knew you'd find your way back. Our _schatje_ needed her protector."

A movement in her peripheries caught Brittany's eye, and she spotted Kate glaring at the still embracing duo with a look of pure jealousy. Great, she thought bitterly, as if that fire needed any more fuel. Her girlfriend squeezed past the two women and stood next to Brittany, hissing into her ear, "_really?!" _

The blonde gave her a helpless shrug, "San and I were best friends since Kindergarten, she kind of grew up with my mom as her mom too," she whispered back.

Santana wiped at her eyes before looking back at Brittany, noticing Kate, "Oh. Hi, Katie." The Latina smirked slightly in Lisa's direction when she heard the older blonde snicker softly under her breath. God, could the two women get any more similar? Brittany let out a huff and both women stopped their shenanigans.

"It's Kate, actually," the brunette responded acidly, "If you don't mind me asking, why exactly are you here?"

"Wow, and I thought you were 'such a huge fan'," Santana smirked, recounting Kate's first words back at her, "but I'm here because I wanted to make sure Britt was Ok." The Latina's eyes shifted to the younger blonde and spoke to her directly, "I didn't want you to have to be exposed to that yet."

"Everyone thinks she's your girlfriend," Kate spat, too angry to continue to be polite in front of Brittany's parents.

Luke emerged from the kitchen, his mouth was stuffed with a muffin but he attempted a smile at the Latina, causing Santana to wrap her arms around him and kiss his cheek before turning back to Kate, "I already tweeted about it to clear things up. Relax, Tonya Harding."

Brittany curiously brought out her phone and pulled up twitter.

SNIXXOFFICIAL: LOL! World, meet my best friend. She likes ducks. Obviously you guys like pictures, so…

Santana had attached a photomontage of the two girls with photos ranging from when they were toddlers to high school. Lisa sidled up next to Brittany, and pointed at one of the photos, "Aww, I took that one."

"As long as they know you're just a friend, they should stay at bay," Santana explained. "Its not nearly as interesting to know that I have friends."

Brittany smiled gratefully at her, "Thanks, San." Kate's jaw clinched at the nickname.

"Anything for you, Britt," the Latina said, winking at her, obviously trying to bait Kate. Brittany mouthed the word _try_ at the Latina in response, but Santana only smirked back.

"How about you guys come to my home for dinner? I'll have my personal chef whip us up something nice, so that you don't have to worry about feeding everyone, Britt. We can even all take a dip in the hot tub before." Santana offered, winking again at Brittany when she said hot tub.

Kate opened her mouth to respond, but Lisa cut her off, "Oh, _beertje, _that sounds so lovely. I would love to see your home."

Well, fuck, the blonde thought. Brittany was one hundred percent screwed. Not only would she have to watch Santana antagonize Kate at dinner, but they were also getting in the hot tub. A hot tub. With Santana. Sure, both her parents and her current girlfriend would likely be in that hot tub too, but Brittany was sure that wouldn't matter the instant she saw Santana in her bathing suit. Yep. She was totally fucked.

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**A/N: **Translations: _Moeder_ (mother), _Hoi, pap_ (hi, dad), _Hoi, dochter_ (hi, daughter), _mijn __zoeteke (My sweet), __beertje (Little bear), __schatje (Little Treasure)_

I'm a sucker for reviews, so tell me your thoughts. Favorite/Follow!


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** That awkward moment when you're reading a fic and you're like, "Oh wow, this was good, I hope they update soon." and then you realize it's your own fic. So, I updated. ;). I hope you guys like it. Just like last chapter, the Dutch and Spanish translations are in the Authors note at the bottom of the page.

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Immediately after hearing the change in dinner plans, Kate stalked off wordlessly. Brittany sent an apologetic look to the rest of the group, "I'm just gonna…" she trailed off, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb in the direction her girlfriend had gone. The younger blonde turned to walk away, but she stopped and turned back around, looking at her mother and Santana with a serious expression. "This isn't going to be how it goes tonight. Kate is my girlfriend, whether or not either of you likes it. Please, just don't try and provoke her, ok?"

When both women reluctantly nodded back at her, Brittany spun around and walked through the apartment, eventually finding Kate in their bedroom, sitting on the bed and staring off into space.

"We don't have to go, you know," Brittany said softly to her girlfriend as she sat down next to her.

Kate let out a small disbelieving laugh, "Yeah, because that would look _so_ great for me with your parents."

"That doesn't matter," the blonde rebutted, "My mom and San together can be a lot to take in. I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

Kate dropped her head to her hands and sighed, "I'll be fine. It sounded like your mom was pretty gung-ho about going, and I know you want to be with her. Plus there's no way I wouldn't go if you are."

Brittany frowned at that. Good to see her girlfriend trusted her. The blonde bit back her retort, knowing that it wasn't a good time to start an argument. "Well, I guess we should get going then," Brittany said instead, as she started to stand up from the bed.

"Wait," Kate reached out and pulled Brittany back down. The brunette leaned forward and connected her lips with the blonde's. Brittany froze for an instant out of surprise. She didn't have any urge whatsoever to do anything physical with Kate in that moment, but she let herself softly reciprocate the kiss, knowing that her girlfriend needed reassurance. Kate took that as an encouragement and she deepened the kiss, sucking Brittany's lower lip into her mouth and nipping on it gently.

At the sound of someone clearing their throat, Brittany pulled away quickly and found Santana leaning against the bedroom's doorway, staring at Kate. The Latina had thrown up every mental wall she owned, but Brittany could see the complete and absolute fury in her eyes.

"Yeah? Can I help you?" Kate asked her cockily, placing her hand on Brittany's thigh. The blonde softly pushed it off, unwilling to play a part in Kate's obvious attempt at baiting Santana.

The Latina's hands clinched into fists and she started to take a step forward until she made eye contact with Brittany. Once the brown and blue eyes locked, Santana seemed to deflate, the anger slowly leaving her eyes until they just looked resigned. Obviously she had decided in her head that tearing Brittany's girlfriend in two would probably _not_ make her blonde happy. "We need to get going if we want to get to my house with enough time before dinner to get in the hot tub," Santana forced out, turning to leave, but then she stopped and threw a coy smile over her shoulder at Brittany, "Don't forget your bathing suit, BrittBritt. You've always had a problem with that." The Latina left the room, and Brittany rolled her eyes, knowing it was too good to be true to think that Santana would let Kate off entirely.

"Don't do that," Brittany reprimanded her girlfriend, who was glaring at the doorway where the Latina last stood.

"Don't do what?" Kate asked, still looking towards the door.

"Don't try and play that game with Santana." When it looked as if Kate was going to deny it, the blonde continued, "I'm not joking, Kate. That is not a path you want to go down with her." Namely because San will utterly destroy you in the 'who has Brittany' game, Brittany silently added to herself.

Kate didn't respond, so the blonde stood up and silently walked over to her dresser to pick out a bathing suit, feeling slightly guilty for choosing her sexiest one.

Kate and Brittany drove separately to Santana's home, with Lisa and Luke accompanying Santana, as the Latina had been adamant that she be able to introduce them to Anderson. When the group arrived, Luke let out a low whistle, sending an appreciative look at Santana, "I'm not so sure this classifies as just a house."

Brittany didn't try to stop the quick bark of laughter that escaped her mouth, "Just wait until you get inside, _pap_."

Santana smiled bashfully at the young blonde before she motioned the group inside and gave them a quick run through of the mansion. Lisa walked next to the Latina the entire time with a look of pure pride on her face. "_Beertje, _your home is so beautiful."

"_Gracias, Mami P," _Santana replied, smiling at the older woman. "Well, that's pretty much most of it, so if you guys want to go find a room to change in, feel free."

Brittany took the easy route, walking straight into the bedroom next to her and quickly closed the door behind her. The blonde immediately rid herself of her shirt, stripping off the material and throwing it carelessly to the floor. She had just unbuttoned her jeans, and was halfway through pulling them down, when she heard the door start to open, "Wait!" the blonde yelped out, but she was too late. The door had already opened, and a figure stepped inside, quickly closing the door behind them when they took in the blonde's state of undress.

"Damn, B," Santana husked out, her eyes trailing up and down Brittany's torso. The Latina's gaze finally settled on the blonde's tight abs, and she wet her lips before gently biting down on the bottom one. "I've pictured you like this_ so_ many times over the last four years, but my memory really didn't do you justice."

Embarrassed, Brittany moved to cover herself, but Santana stepped forward and gently gripped her wrists, stopping her. The contact seemed to short circuit the blonde's brain for a moment, so it took her a few seconds to finally choke out, "Why are you in here?"

"Well," Santana moved closer, a smirk forming on her face. She motioned for the blonde to bend down, and Brittany, completely entranced, complied. "This _is_ my bedroom," the Latina whispered, her hot breath breaking against the blonde's ear. "Were you not paying attention at all during my tour?"

Paying attention to you talking? No. Paying attention to that ass? Hell yes, Brittany thought to herself, a small smirk forming on her face because of it.

Santana seemed to read the thought off of Brittany's face, and she smirked back at her, "Oh. Right. I was walking in front of you the whole time, wasn't I? That always did seem to grab your attention more than anything else. How forgetful of me." The Latina's tone suggested it was anything but forgetful.

"San…" Brittany breathed out, starting to become uncomfortable with how heated the space between them was becoming.

Santana quirked an eyebrow at Brittany, before she released her hold on the blonde's wrist. The Latina's gaze flickered back down to Brittany's abs, and she lifted her hand and used one fingertip to lightly trail along their curves and ridges, causing waves of arousal to course through the blonde with each stroke. "I didn't like seeing her kiss you," Santana husked like she was telling the blonde her darkest secret. The superstar looked up at Brittany with pained eyes. "You've always been mine."

Brittany raised her hand and softly gripped Santana's that was still on her abdomen. The two women stared at each other for a few heated moments until Santana's gaze fell to Brittany's lips and she started to lean forward.

Everything was golden in Brittany's head until one thought entered her brain. Kate. Panic seized the blonde and she jerked back, "Don't," Brittany yelped, causing Santana to stop her movement immediately, the pain of rejection quickly filling her eyes. "I told you, San. I _can't _cheat on Kate. I won't be that person again. _Please_, don't ask me to be."

Santana's eyes flipped through a series of emotions: first anger, then resentment, followed by understanding, but they ultimately settled on guilt. "I'm sorry," the Latina whispered, with her eyes lowered. "I… I just got caught up in the moment. You look _so_ good, Britt."

Brittany hooked a finger under the Latina's jaw and slowly lifted up her head so that they were looking eye to eye. The blonde then took her finger and used it to softly lift up one corner of Santana's mouth until the superstar smiled naturally. "See? No harm." Brittany said happily, tapping Santana on the nose. "But, I do kind of need to finish changing."

Santana looked embarrassed, "Right. Do you want me to go? I still have to get my bathing suit out of here."

Brittany smirked at her, "No, just keep your eyes to yourself."

Santana visibly swallowed, but nodded, and promptly spun around and walked to her dresser. Brittany quickly stripped off the rest of her clothing, and hastily put on her bathing suit, before turning back around. Santana had put on her bathing suit bottoms, but was in the process of putting on her top. The bare expanse of her tan back was fully exposed to the blonde, and Brittany had to quickly look away, repeating her girlfriend's name in her head like a mantra.

"Ready?" Santana's voice cut through Brittany's internal battle, causing the blonde to look up. The two women stood there for a moment, allowing themselves to look unabashed at the other. Finally, Brittany realized that she had stared for longer than what would be publicly acceptable, so she forced herself to nod and walk out of the room, fully aware of the Latina's gaze that had fallen to her backside.

When the pair made it outside to the hot tub, which in all honesty was really the size of a pool, they spotted that Kate and Brittany's parents had already gotten in. Lisa smirked at them, and raised an eyebrow in Santana's direction.

"Did you get lost, Brittany?" Kate asked with an attempt at a playful voice, but the blonde could see the anger in her girlfriend's eyes.

Santana must have picked up on the anger, because she protectively put her arm around Brittany's waist and responded for her, "It's a pretty damn big house."

Brittany sent Santana an appreciative glance before climbing into the steaming water, and settling down next to Kate. Her girlfriend immediately wrapped a possessive arm over her shoulders, and stared at Santana. Brittany gave her a warning glare, but it went entirely unheeded. Santana sat next to Lisa, laying her head on the older blonde's shoulder. Lisa absentmindedly began playing with the Latina's hair. "What is it you do again, Kate?" the older blonde asked. Brittany could hear the well-hidden mocking polite tone.

Kate looked away, slightly embarrassed, "I work in insurance."

"She's really good at it," Brittany interjected, trying to help keep Kate away from the wolves, "I mean, I don't know what she's talking about half the time. But it sounds smart."

Kate rolled her eyes, "Anything sounds smart to you, Britt."

Santana immediately sat ramrod straight, her eyes glaring holes into Kate, "¿_Qué coño acabas de decir a mi chica_?"

Oh, shit. Brittany's eyes went wide. "San, she didn't mean it. It's fine."

The Latina silenced her with a fiery expression, before she returned her gaze to Kate, "I asked you what you just said, _Kate_."

Kate's mouth hung open, obviously trying to find a way to back pedal. "I wasn't thinking, I just said it."

"You _just said it_," Santana sneered, repeating back the words. Lisa raised one eyebrow expectantly at Kate, her face stoic. "Apologize. Now," the Latina hissed.

"I'm sorry, Britt," Kate mumbled quietly, not looking the blonde in the eye.

"It's ok," Brittany whispered back to her softly. The blonde looked back at Santana, wordlessly telling her to drop it.

"Well then," Luke cut in, a smile on his face, "I don't think we ever got the story of how you and our Brittany met, Kate."

Thank God for her father, Brittany thought. Kate gave him a strained smile, "Oh, well I mean it really wasn't all that interesting. She was sitting alone at a coffee shop, and I asked to sit with her. The rest is history," the brunette turned her strained smile to Brittany, and the blonde squeezed her hand in encouragement.

"Cute," Santana interjected, a pained smile plastered over her face. "I think dinner should be ready by now," the Latina stood up, and Brittany had to bite her lip at the view of water droplets rolling over the woman's curves. It shouldn't be fair for one person to be so effortlessly sexy.

The group dried off and separated to change back into their dry clothing. Brittany decided it was probably best to dress in a different room than Santana. When the blonde made her way to the dining room, she couldn't stop the squeal that escaped her mouth at the sight of the food. She would recognize it anywhere. "How the heck did you get _Breadstixx_, San?" Brittany excitedly asked the already seated Latina. "I thought the closest one was like a thousand miles away or something."

"It is," Santana answered evasively, a smile playing at her lips. Brittany pouted at the lack of an answer as she sat down across from the Latina and next to Kate. Lisa was seated next to Santana, and Luke was at the head of the table.

"What's _Breadstixx?_ Like, is it not just the bread?" Kate asked, confused.

"It's a chain Italian restaurant back in Lima," Lisa answered her, a slow smirk forming on her face as she continued, "Santana used to take our Brittany there religiously every Friday since the time she could drive."

Brittany snatched up a still warm breadstick sitting in a basket in front of her and shoved part of it in her mouth, moaning around the fluffy mass, "Ugh, so good." She grabbed another and handed it to Kate, who carefully took it from her, looking at it skeptically. Brittany heaped spaghetti onto her plate and immediately started twirling her fork around in it, "Seriously, San. How did you get this? I've had serious cravings for it for like the last four years." Brittany paused her twirling after she said the length of time and smiled nervously at the Latina, hoping she didn't catch on to its significance.

Santana smiled softly at her, obviously making the connection. "Me too. So, I may or may not have paid the owner a large sum of money for their secret recipe." The Latina winked conspiratorially at Brittany.

The blonde forked the spaghetti into her mouth, letting out an entirely indecent sound at the taste, "Totally worth it."

"It's alright I suppose," Kate interjected, still eyeing her food distrustfully, "I've had better."

Lisa let out a small laugh before speaking quietly to Santana, "_Jaloezie echt haar niet past, doet het, Beertje?"_

The Latina grinned at her, "_het niet."_

Although the young blonde couldn't deny the truth in their words, Brittany glared at them before scolding, "_genoeg, jullie allebei." _

Kate looked at the blonde next to her confused before silently whispering, "What was that? I didn't know Santana spoke Dutch too."

Brittany sighed, "They're just being their usual snarky selves. Don't pay them any mind," she sent the duo another warning look, "and San learned Dutch just through sheer exposure. She was at my house _a lot_ growing up."

Kate bristled, "Oh. Right. Before she left you."

Ouch. "Don't do this right now, please," Brittany begged, all too aware of the two sets of blue eyes and the one set of brown staring at them. Kate tensed her jaw, but complied. She didn't speak for the remainder of the dinner, causing the environment to be incredibly awkward.

After dinner, when they were preparing to leave, Santana pulled Brittany aside. "Kate's not happy, huh?" She asked hesitantly.

Brittany sighed, "No. She's definitely not. I suspect I'll have an earful when I get home." She frowned at the Latina in front of her, "You and mom really didn't help much."

Santana looked away ashamed, "I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to try, but every time she would talk to you it was always in such an angry way and I just can't control myself when someone talks like that to you. Snixx comes out to play then."

Brittany smiled softly at her, "_mijn beschermer." _ Yeah, Santana had been a bit of a bitch, but Brittany couldn't help but love that aspect of the Latina. She always made her feel safe.

A large grin spread across Santana's face at the phrase, and she softly reached out and squeezed one of Brittany's hands, "Always."

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**A/N: **Translations: ¿_Qué coño acabas de decir a mi chica_? (What the fuck did you just say to my girl?), _Jaloezie echt haar niet past, doet het, Beertje? _(Jealousy does not suit her, does it, Little bear?), _het niet _(It does not), _genoeg, jullie allebei (_Enough, Both of you_), __mijn beschermer_ (My Protector).

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	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: **Wow, so life kind of all hit at once. I'm still updating, I promise. You guys may or may not like this chapter. Its some necessary Brittany/Kate interaction, that is important for the overall plot, but I promise this story is a Brittana story.

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Brittany lowered her head to the cold surface of her kitchen table, exhausted by the argument she had been involved in for the last thirty minutes. "Kate, I'm sorry that Santana was a bitch to you tonight; it was totally out of line, and I'll talk to her about it." The blonde let out a huff before she picked her head back up and looked wearily at her girlfriend, who was sitting across the table from her with an exasperated expression. "But, frankly, I am just so tired of having to see this side of you all the time now. I need you to trust me. Isn't that what relationships are all about?"

Kate sighed, placing her head into her hands, her curly brown locks falling around her hidden face, and mumbled out, "It's not that I don't trust you. You are the kind of person every mother wants their daughter to grow up to be, Brittany." She picked her head up from her hands and smiled ruefully at the blonde, "You are so sweet and you never fail to see the good in people. It's one of the reasons why I fell in love with you. You make this world seem like a better place." Kate's hazel eyes fell to the table, and she began plucking at the wood, "You've made me happy, and I just don't want to lose you."

Brittany's eyes softened and she reached across the table to hold onto her girlfriend's agitated fingers until hazel eyes met her blue, "Santana being back in my life doesn't mean that you're going to lose me." The blonde sighed, "But all of this anger and jealousy you've been throwing at me because of it could definitely do that. You're like that Ed guy."

Kate crinkled her eyebrows in confusion, "…Ed?"

"You know, the one that accidentally murders his dad and then rolls around the sheets with his mom, all while trying to run away from doing that," Brittany tried to explain, her left eye squinting as she attempted to remember the story.

Kate let out a bark of laughter and a large grin stole her features, "You mean Oedipus, babe?"

Brittany smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, Ed."

Kate's large smile faded some, as she appeared to take in the real meaning of Brittany's statement. She let out a puff of air and looked up at the ceiling, "I don't mean to be creating these problems. I honestly can't believe I called you dumb earlier," Kate looked at Brittany with guilt permeating her gaze, "I am so sorry. Really."

"I know you didn't mean it, but you can't just take out your anger on me like that," Brittany admonished. "I know San probably over reacted to it, but it used to be a pretty big issue for me back when we were younger. She's practically hardwired to rip people's heads off for saying something like that to me."

Kate let out a frustrated groan, "But that's the thing that scares me. I feel like I'm dealing with the Superman of Ex's. Like not only is she your childhood sweetheart, best friend, and first love, who just happens to call your mom '_mami_', but she's also a multimillionaire international superstar."

Brittany smiled at her sadly, "It would definitely be a lot to take in. But as long as you trust me, then none of those things should really matter."

"I've trusted people before, you know that," Kate responded bitterly, her fingers digging into the wood, "Sometimes the person you think you know the best ends up being the person you know the least."

"I'm not Anne," Brittany spoke gently, threading her fingers into her girlfriend's, squeezing lightly.

"I don't think you'll cheat on me like she did, Britt. You're too good of a person for that," Kate said sincerely, causing Brittany to feel a pang in her heart for all the times when she was younger that her and Santana were beyond caring about being good people. "It's more the emotional side I'm worried about. It's something you don't have control over."

"Kate, I love you," Brittany soothed, but couldn't help the small voice in the back of her head that agreed her girlfriend could be right. The blonde ignored the voice and continued, "Santana left me, and we can only be just friends. That's the bottom line. You're who I come home to now." Brittany hated that her own heart stayed decidedly still at the thought of Kate being the person she came home to. There wasn't any fluttering.

The words seemed to do the trick for Kate though, as she stood from the table and walked over to where Brittany was seated. The brunette threw a leg over the blonde, straddling her. "You do, don't you?" Kate smirked, trailing her finger along Brittany's neck.

Brittany smiled minutely, lifting her hands to rest on her girlfriend's hips. The instant they made contact, Kate extricated herself off of Brittany's lap and started walking down the hall. She threw a sultry glance over her shoulder, before peeling her shirt off and letting drop to the ground. "I think I'm going to take a shower," Kate turned to face Brittany entirely before her bra joined its companion on the floor. "You coming?"

Brittany swallowed thickly as she stood, pulling her shirt off as she went, praying to God that this time the Santana's face would manage to stay out of her mind.

_(The next day)_

"_Schatje_, the studio is as beautiful as ever!" Lisa declared with a huge smile, "You have done such a wonderful job here."

"Thanks, mom," Brittany answered bashfully as she dutifully moved to open the door to the building for the older woman. "I'm just excited you get to come see one of my classes. I can't wait for you to meet the kids."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, dear. Your father was quite upset he wouldn't be able to see it too."

Brittany pouted, her bottom lip jutting out, "I wish he didn't have that conference."

Lisa smiled sympathetically at her daughter, "I know. But this just means we will have to come again so he can experience it."

Brittany's response was cut off by the loud chorus of the usual, "Miss Brittany!"

The blonde grinned her mother before grabbing her hand and skipping into the room, "Hi, guys. I'd like you to meet my mom. She's going to be sitting in on this lesson if that's alright with everyone." Brittany threw a glance at the parents in the back of the room, who gave her their nods of approval.

"Wait," a small autistic boy named Nathan spoke up loudly, "but you're old. Old people don't have mommies."

Brittany laughed to herself, Santana would be having a field day with that statement. "We sure do, sweetheart. No matter how old you get, you'll always have your mommy."

Nathan smiled sheepishly and repeated to himself, "Always have my mommy," as he glanced to the back of the room where his mother was waiting.

Brittany smiled reassuringly at the young boy, before turning to the class, "Alright, go ahead and get in your positions and we'll get started for the day."

The blonde felt a vibration in her back pocket, and subtly pulled out her phone to glance at it, smiling when she saw the familiar name.

3:23 PM FROM: SAN :)

_Why didn't you tell me you were old, Britt Britt? I don't think I can be friends with an old person. I mean, I have to think about my rep now, you know? And old people that don't even have mommies are just not going to cut it for me anymore._

Brittany rolled her eyes, a small smile played at her lips.

3:24 PM TO: SAN :)

_You and mom aren't allowed to text anymore. You gossip like schoolgirls._

3:24 PM FROM: SAN :)

_Don't lie, you love it. Plus, I thought you always liked me as a schoolgirl?_

A bright blush took up residence on Brittany's face as she quickly locked and put away her phone. Lisa raised an eyebrow at her daughter's obvious flushed appearance.

"San," Brittany offered to her mother as her only explanation, before she walked to the front of the room and began interacting with the children as a distraction. She glanced a look back at the older blonde, seeing Lisa with a wicked grin on her face, looking down at her phone. Brittany sighed to herself; those two women together were a force to be reckoned with.

For the next half hour, Brittany helped the kids through a short routine, her heart swelling happily at their gleeful giggles. She was helping a young girl twirl around when she heard a shrill, "Miss Kate! Cookies!" Brittany turned and saw her girlfriend standing in the doorway, a large aluminum tray of cookies in her hands.

Brittany smiled happily at the brunette, walking over to grab the tray from her hands and kissing her gratefully on the cheek, "I didn't know you were coming today."

"That was the point," Kate laughed, "Plus I've missed these little buggers." Her girlfriend's demeanor took on a more awkward note, with the brunette reaching up and rubbing at the back of her neck. Brittany looked behind her and saw her mother approaching.

"Well, this is certainly kind of you, Kate" Lisa told her, gesturing at the aluminum tray still in Brittany's hands.

"Oh, its nothing," Kate laughed uncomfortably, "My grandma taught me how to make some killer chocolate chip cookies, and the kids have always loved them."

"She brings them once every few weeks or so," Brittany added helpfully, walking over to a table and setting the cookies down, gesturing for the parents to distribute them as they wished.

Lisa looked at Kate appraisingly before she allowed her a tight-lipped smile, "Well, if it makes my Brittany happy."

Brittany turned to the class, "Thanks for coming today guys, don't forget to thank Miss Kate on the way out for the cookies. I'll see you all next week." As the children were filtering out of the studio, Brittany once again felt a constant vibration from her back pocket so she slipped out of the room and into the hallway before raising her phone to her ear, "Hello?"

"Hey" Santana's husky tones filtered from the phone, causing a wide grin to split Brittany's face.

"What's up? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm frustrated and needed a break. I'm supposed to be trying to write a new song, but the only one I can think of is the one I don't want to write."

Brittany's eyebrows crunched together, "Why don't you want to write it?"

The blonde could hear a sigh from over the phone, "Its just not the right time yet. So since you're my usual muse I thought maybe talking to you would help." There was a slight pause, "It's nice to finally be able to do that."

Brittany allowed herself a soft laugh, "Yeah, it is isn't it? There were so many times over the past few years that I caught myself reaching for my phone to tell you something."

Santana groaned, "I used to talk to myself and pretend it was you. But if you tell anyone that, I will adamantly deny it and sue you for libel."

"Please, you'd never sue me," Brittany rebutted, "So… was imaginary me any good?" The blonde asked with a smile, before her brain caught up with the secondary meaning of that statement, "Wait, I mean…. Not like… you know… sexually good. Like… good. Friend good. At listening and stuff."

Santana laughed, "Yes on all counts, and no, you can't take it back now," she answered cheekily.

Brittany felt her insides flip at the insinuation, her face growing hot. "Imaginary you was pretty good too," she offered, "As a friend."

"Just as a friend?" Santana asked, the blonde could hear the smile in her voice.

"Yes," Brittany answered quickly. She was met with unbelieving silence, so she forced herself to relent, "OK fine, there were times where it may have not been just as a friend."

A triumphant noise came from the phone, causing Brittany to laugh despite herself. Kate poked her head out of the studio door and sent the blonde a questioning look. Brittany raised one finger towards her and mouthed 'just a minute'.

"So how was class, Betty White?" Santana asked, her chuckles coming through the phone.

Brittany let out an exasperated groan, her head falling back against the wall, "You are seriously never allowed to talk to my mother again. But it was good; Kate brought the kids cookies."

Santana was silent for a moment before responding emotionlessly, "Oh. Well that's sweet of her."

"Yeah…" Brittany bit her lip, cursing herself for turning the conversation awkward. "Remember when we used to make cookies?"

"We? Did you just say we?" Santana laughed, "I remember me making the cookies, and you sitting there asking for a spoonful of dough every four minutes. And don't even get me started about the time you decided I wasn't paying attention so you threw flour at me"

"But the dough was the best part, and you weren't paying attention."

"I was definitely paying attention, BrittBritt. I was just zoning out 'cause you were licking the dough off of the spoon and it was super hot."

Brittany sucked her lower lip into her mouth as an image of her and Santana rolling around the kitchen floor after she threw the flour popped into her mind. "Oh."

Santana laughed to herself, "I take it you remember the rest of that encounter now."

"And the shower after," Brittany answered playfully before she sighed, "But that's the past. And we're just friends now."

"Right… Friends," Santana responded, unable to hide the sullen tone, "Anyways I think I've got a song in my head now. I'll talk to you later, OK?"

"Alright, San."

When the phone went silent, Brittany allowed herself to slowly slide down the wall and rest her head on her pulled up knees. Kate's previous words about 'emotions that she has no control over' were rolling around in her head, mocking her. She didn't want them to be true, but every interaction with Santana was leaving smaller and smaller doubt, but then Kate hadn't done anything wrong, and Santana was the woman that broke her heart. Brittany just didn't know what to do.

"Don't think so hard, _Schatje_," Lisa's voice broke through her reverie. Brittany lifted her head from her knees and saw her mother standing over her with a kind smile on her face. The older woman crouched down so that their faces were at the same height, "You have a good heart. All of this will sort itself out in time, but whatever it is you choose to do, make sure it's because you can't imagine _your_ life any other way. Not because someone else has imagined you in theirs."

When Brittany slowly nodded, Lisa grinned and extended a hand towards her daughter, "Good. Now, come have fun with your mother on her last day in town."

* * *

**A/N:**_Schatje (Little Treasure)._

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	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note:** Forgot to say it last chapter, but thanks to Chuckleshan for helping me through a little bit of writers block and giving me some pushes in the right direction. I wrote this one kind of quickly, so sorry if there are any errors that I missed.

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_Soft fingers ghosted along Brittany's barren back, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. They traveled slowly around her skin, applying only the lightest of pressures. The blonde let out a hum of contentment, her eyes closing of their own volition. _

_Husky laughter from behind the blonde filled the air, "You always did love that." _

_Brittany smiled, flipping over to view the source of the voice, "Well, I can't help that you're so good at it, San."_

_Santana's mouth perked up at one end in response, her eyes trained on her fingers, which were lingering near the blonde's naked front. Her pointer finger extended at an excruciatingly slow pace until its tip made contact with a perky pink nipple. Dilated brown eyes met blue as Santana smirked and slowly ran her fingertip around the peak. "Remember what else I'm so good at, baby?" _

_Brittany couldn't hold back the whimper that escaped as she lurched forward and connected her lips with Santana's plump ones. Santana smiled into the kiss, rolling the blonde over until the Latina was resting on her elbows on top of her, their legs tangled together. "You haven't forgotten have you?" the brunette husked, lowering her lips to kiss along Brittany's exposed neck._

_Brittany bit down on her lower lip, feeling a pulse of arousal shoot down to her core. "N-no. I definitely couldn't forget that."_

_"Oh. Well if you remember, I guess I don't need to remind you," Santana stated coyly, rolling off of the blonde._

_"No!" Brittany yelped, pulling her companion back on top of her, "You know I never get tired of you reminding me."_

_Santana hummed in acknowledgement, lowering her head to suck one of the blonde's nipples into her mouth, gently flicking her tongue against it. _

_Brittany let out a breathy moan at the sensation, "Remind me, San. Please. Remind me how it feels to have you... and to let _you_ be the one that fucks me."_

_The Latina let out a groan at the words, kissing down Brittany's body until her head was between the blonde's legs. Santana looked up, making eye contact, before she slowly lowered her head, pink tongue flicking out against-_

A loud knocking echoed through the previously quiet apartment, startling Brittany awake. The blonde jolted forward, her heart pounding in her chest with lingering arousal from her dream. Ugh. Her dream. Brittany wanted to be able to say that she felt guilty for dreaming about Santana, but all it did was fill the blonde with longing. The knocking continued and Brittany threw a glance to the alarm clock next to her: 7:32AM. Grumbling to herself about the early wake up, the blonde extricated herself from bed and shuffled down the hall, rubbing her eyes as she opened the door.

"Forget something, hun?" Santana asked, her eyes running down the blonde's body, "Or have you gotten in the habit of opening the door for strangers in just a tank top and panties?" The Latina's gaze settled on Brittany's skimpy panties, her eyebrows rising while she unconsciously licked at her lips.

Brittany looked down her body, following Santana's gaze, and noticed a _very_ obvious wet spot left over from her dream. "Sorry…" Brittany whispered, although she made no move to cover herself, "It _is_ the morning…"

Santana licked at her lips again before she seemed to force herself to look away, "I remember."

Brittany's mind flashed back to her dream. _Remind me, San…_

The Latina cleared her throat, "So I know it's early and everything, but I'm headed to the film studio to work on the music video for one of my new singles, and I thought maybe you would want to come? I would have just texted, but I know you tend to sleep through that."

Brittany's face split into a grin, and she did a little jump, "Heck yes I want to come. Let me just go get changed. Anything specific I should wear?" The blonde gestured for Santana to enter the apartment, closing the door behind her.

"Just something casual."

Brittany slipped into her room, careful to keep from waking the still slumbering Kate. She hastily threw on some skinny jeans and a sweatshirt before walking back out to where Santana was waiting.

The Latina smiled once she saw Brittany emerge from the room, "You still wear my sweatshirt?"

Brittany looked down, seeing the letters NYU stretching across her chest, "Oh… um… I can change if you want it back…" The blonde couldn't keep the pout off of her face,

She loved that sweatshirt.

"No, I love seeing you wear it…" Santana trailed off, "Always have."

Brittany let out a breath of air, "Phew, good. There's no way I could have given this thing back."

Santana grinned at her and extended a hand, "Well now that's settled, ready?"

Brittany smiled back, lacing her fingers through the Latina's. The two women made their way out of the apartment, and into the waiting car. Brittany sent Kate a text to let her know where she was going, before letting out a large yawn.

"It's going to be a decent drive until we're there, about 30 minutes or so. You could take a nap if you wanted," Santana said, raising her arm and gesturing to the spot underneath it.

Brittany sent her a grateful smile, quickly curling up under the Latina's arm, with her head resting on the other woman's upper chest. The scents of caramel and vanilla rising up to meet her, "Mmm. San, you smell good."

The Latina laughed softly, the sound reverberating through her chest where the blonde's ear was placed, before placing a light kiss on the top of Brittany's head and tightening the arm wrapped around her, "Try and sleep, B."

Brittany closed her eyes, paying attention to the soft _thump-thump_ of Santana's heart, which had lulled her into sleep countless times before. A whisper was left unheard as darkness took her: _I love you. _

"B, wake up, we're here," Santana said softly, carefully shaking Brittany awake.

The blonde grumbled incoherently, shaking her head as she nestled her face farther into the Latina's firm breasts. Wait,_ breasts_? Brittany jolted up, a look of horror on her face as she stared open mouthed at a now smirking Latina.

"It appears your subconscious has missed the twins…" Santana whispered conspiratorially, the smirk still firmly in place as she exited the car.

Brittany looked away bashfully, thinking that it definitely wasn't just her subconscious that missed those pillows sent from heaven. She hastily followed the Latina out of the car and was startled by the approach of three men with expensive looking cameras.

"Santana! Look over here!"

"Is this your _friend,_ Santana?"

"What's your name, gorgeous? Smile at the camera for me."

Santana placed her hand on Brittany's lower back, and gently pushed her forward past the paparazzi and into the building where the studio's security held the men back. "Sorry about that…. The crowd is probably going to be a lot bigger when we come out, since they know where I am now. Will you be ok with that?"

"I guess I don't really have a choice right? It's the price of having you in my life." Brittany smiled reassuringly, "Which is basically like having to pay a jolly rancher for a Shelby Mustang."

"Just a Shelby? And here I was equating you to a Bugatti in my head, and you down grade me to a Shelby." Santana shook her head with an exaggeratedly wounded expression, clutching her hand dramatically over her chest.

"It's a good thing you're a singer and not an actress," Brittany teased, "Besides, you know a Shelby is my dream car. You can't get any better than that."

"You can get _much_ better than that, but we're not having this debate _again_," Santana rebutted, laughing as she led the blonde into a large room with clusters of people standing around.

"Santana! There you are," A short, overweight, and balding man yelled, hastily walking over to the two women, "Glad you finally decided to show up. And who is this?" The man asked, gesturing at Brittany, frowning.

"Watch it, Drew Carey, She's not used to Hollywood assholes," Santana warned with a raised eyebrow, "but this is Brittany. Britt, this is John Chester, the director for the video."

"It's nice to meet you," Brittany offered with a polite smile, extending her hand.

The man looked at it skeptically for a moment before his face broke into a wide grin, "Found yourself a sweet one, huh, Lopez?" He quickly shook the blonde's hand, "Don't believe all you hear about this one from the magazines. She's a good gal at heart," he said gesturing towards Santana.

The Latina rolled her eyes, "You don't need to tell her that, John. She's known me longer than anyone else. Brittany is my best friend." Brittany didn't miss the slight hitch in Santana's voice when she said 'best friend'.

John shifted uncomfortably, "Ah. Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed she was a new lady friend. Anyways, we're going to start once you're ready, so you need to head over to wardrobe and makeup in a few."

After he left, Brittany turned to Santana with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "So do you bring 'new lady friends' here often?"

"Of course not, Britt. My lady friends have all consisted of one night stands that are lucky to get Keurig coffee in the morning."

Brittany felt the white hot scorch of jealousy run through her body at the thought of other women being with _her_ girl. No, she couldn't think like that anymore, she chastised herself, Santana wasn't hers anymore and she wasn't Santana's. Yet she knew it would do nothing to assuage the heart clinching feeling. Jealousy was a hard thing to beat.

"So what kind of video is this going to be?" Brittany asked, hopeful that the change in subject would help clear her mind.

"It's nothing over the top. It's for one of my slower songs that has a kind of haunting tune, with lyrics that aren't clear if I'm alive or not. There's going to be a lot of classical dance, so you should love it," Santana answered, her smile growing by the minute, "It's just going to be me and one other person, with them dancing around and me trying to get their attention."

"That sounds-," Brittany cut off as she noticed a tall brunette walk up to Santana and wrap her arms around her from behind.

"Hey there," the brunette husked into Santana's ear, with the Latina flinching away in surprise. Oh, there's that jealousy thing again. Brittany's hands clinched together, skin pulling taut over knuckles.

Santana hastily disentangled herself from the other woman's limbs, "Hannah, that wasn't appropriate."

"Don't be like that, sugar, I'm just trying to gear up for our video," the brunette said with what Brittany was sure she believed to be an award winning grin. Honestly, it looked kind of stupid. Pointy teeth… and with bad breath, probably.

"And…. Who are you?" Hannah asked Brittany, an obvious challenge in her eyes, as she looked the blonde up and down.

Brittany didn't try to stop her laugh at the examination: she could play this game. The normally innocent blonde always transformed into a person with vicious-vicious words when someone tried to assert a claim on Santana. The blonde wrapped her arms around Santana from behind, imitating the move Hannah had attempted earlier, but this time the Latina smiled and leaned back into her. Brittany placed her chin on Santana's shoulder and threw the tall brunette an overly innocent smile, "I'm Brittany."

"And that means what exactly?" Hannah asked with the hostility poorly disguised in her voice. "A stray from last night you couldn't shake?" She asked Santana.

Santana started to respond, but Brittany squeezed her lightly, stopping her, before responding herself, "It means that I'm the girl that got a hell of a lot more than a Keurig coffee." Santana let out a loud bark of laughter, but quickly placed her hand over her mouth.

Hannah inhaled sharply, Brittany obviously hit the nail on the head that this girl was on the list of Santana's one-night stands. Brittany smiled innocently and continued, "I've never been a Keurig fan myself really. I mean, the novelty of it was great and all, but at the end of the day it's just a disposable cup of coffee that was easy to get." Brittany could feel Santana shaking with suppressed laughter in her arms.

Hannah's mouth dropped open, an odd sound of disbelief escaping her. "I take it you're the dancer for the video?" Brittany asked when the other woman was unable to form a reply.

The brunette seemed to compose herself at that, "I am. I've been working with Santana for close to a year now." Hannah said the date range like it was a trump card. "Did you go to NYU?" She asked, seeming to size up Brittany as an opponent.

"What?" Brittany asked, confused, before she remembered her sweatshirt, "Oh, no. I went to Julliard. This is San's from forever ago. I honestly don't even remember when I got it."

Santana laughed, "Got it? You totally stole it. We went on a date to that one Japanese restaurant where they cook in front of you, and you were so excited to see the onion volcano that you ran out without a jacket. I gave you mine for the walk over, and _somebody_ neglected to ever give it back."

Brittany smiled bashfully at the Latina, "Oops."

Hannah watched the interaction with a pained expression, "We need to get ready, Santana."

The Latina let out a resigned puff of air before turning to Brittany, "She's right. Will you be OK on your own for a while?"

"Of course, don't worry about me," Brittany grinned, "Plus I see some breakfast food over there, and you know I've got a soft spot for Mr. Cupcake's redheaded step-child."

Santana laughed, "I made sure to ask for them to put some muffins out just for you."

"Chocolate chip?"

"Obviously, B. Who do you take me for?" Santana teased before lightly squeezing Brittany's hand and walking away.

Brittany smiled to herself as she made her way to the breakfast table, quickly snatching up a number of muffins. She felt content, completely at ease. It was a feeling that she hadn't been familiar with in a while, since… well, Santana. It felt like she had finally relaxed, like she was… _living._

Brittany's mother's words ran through her head, about making sure she was with the person she couldn't see her life without. Could she see her life without Kate? Her head wanted to be able to say no, but a resounding yes came from her heart.

Santana though? Could she live without Santana? Every ounce of her being screamed no. She had to go through life without Santana before, and the way she was feeling now told her that she hadn't even been really living at all. Santana made her _happy._ That's really what life is all about right? Sharing happiness with the people you love?

"What's got you thinking so hard over there?" A deep masculine voice spoke up.

Brittany twisted to find its source, before she grinned widely at them, "Hey, Anderson. I didn't know you'd be coming in."

The tall man shrugged, "I got bored. Plus I like to be already be with Santana when she goes back into the car when there are large crowds around. I don't want some prick to get the wrong idea about touching her."

Brittany's jaw clinched at the thought, "Does that happen a lot?"

"Not really. I mean people try sometimes, but she has bodyguards that come out for the bigger crowds, and they help keep most of them at bay. I still like to be there though."

The blonde nodded thoughtfully, before holding out a muffin to Anderson, "Muffin?"

"Don't mind if I do," he hummed appreciatively after his first bite. "How are you liking your first taste of Santana the Superstar?"

Brittany smirked at him, "So far the only difference is that everyone assumes I'm something she dragged in from last night."

Anderson guffawed, choking on the muffin he was in the process of eating. He spent a minute coughing before he could speak, "Sorry, that went down the wrong way. How did that go over?"

"Brittany definitely knows how to hold her own," Santana interjected, appearing next to the blonde, nudging her.

Brittany's words caught in her throat when she took in the Latina next to her. She looked _gorgeous_. The music video was obviously going for a fairly casual look from the Latina, with only a formfitting white V-neck and skin-tight black jeans, but Santana was making the outfit look like something someone could walk down a runway in. "Wow…" Brittany breathed out, "You look great."

Santana's smile was radiant at that, "Thanks, B. Ready to come watch?"

"Definitely."

The Latina led her over to an area of the room, which was set up to look like a studio apartment.

"Alright! Santana, Hannah, get in your places please!" John yelled, the room going quiet. "Don't forget we're only doing the dancing today, so no singing the lyrics, Santana."

"That was _one_ time, John," the Latina rebutted, rolling her eyes as she walked onto the set, taking a seat on the lone chair in the room. Hannah, dressed equally casually, stood behind her.

"Quiet on the Set! Music get ready to play… and Action!"

A haunting melody played through the room, with Hannah moving into action, slowly dancing along to the soft chords. Darn. She was a pretty good dancer, Brittany thought bitterly, unable to win yet another battle against jealousy.

The general theme of the video quickly developed, with Santana trying to get the brunette's attention and join in on the dance, but she always to be a half step off and had to try again. As the song progressed, she began to sync up a little better after each attempt, eventually making contact with Hannah and engaging in a classical style of dance.

After a moment, Hannah moved to spin around with Santana, but the Latina stumbled over the other dancer's foot.

"Cut!" John yelled, the music going silent, "Santana, I told you to work on that. Why the hell are you still having trouble with that move?"

Santana huffed, "I don't know. I'm not a fucking dancer, John."

"You are today. Again!"

The duo tried the song a number of times, with Santana making the same mistake each time. Brittany watched critically, noticing that the Latina slightly bent her right knee too much as she prepared for the spin.

"What the hell, Lopez! Get this right. Do I need to call the choreographer in here?" John fumed, taking his cell phone out threateningly.

"Wait," Brittany spoke up, receiving the surprised looks of most of the people in the room, obviously thinking something like '_who is this chick?'_ "Do you mind if I try it with you, San? I think I see what you're doing wrong."

"You don't even know the routine," Hannah sneered, "But please, if you think you can lead her better than I can, be my guest."

"It's not a hard routine," Brittany answered with a smile, slowly walking up to Santana, "Is this Ok?" she whispered.

Santana nodded, a relieved look in her eyes, "I really hope you know what I'm doing wrong, because I definitely don't."

"I'll make sure you don't mess up. Don't worry." Brittany moved to take Hannah's starting position behind Santana.

John looked at her skeptically before he shrugged, "Well, what the hell. It can't be any worse than that last take was. Be my guest if you think you can fix it. Quiet on the set! Music get ready to play… Action!"

Brittany moved gracefully and effortlessly through the dance, allowing herself to be taken over by the melody. It earned a few appreciative murmurs from the crowd of people watching. As Santana linked up with her, the two made eye contact and Brittany almost forgot everything else. It was just her and Santana, dancing together to the music. As the spin approached, Brittany tightened her hand on the Latina's waist, pushing her softly in the right direction for the spin, and let out a mile wide smile when Santana didn't trip. The completed spin caused many of the surrounding people to cheer appreciatively.

"Well, I'll be damned. You may actually have a right foot after all, Lopez," John teased.

Santana sent him a withering look before smiling softly at Brittany, "Thanks."

"Did you feel the difference?" Brittany asked, gesturing for Hannah to come back on the set.

"Yeah I think I was doing some weird thing with my legs before."

Brittany walked back to Anderson, where he gave her a sly fist bump, "Do you always show up professional dancers like that?"

"No," Brittany laughed, "I just know Santana. She's always had trouble with spins like that. It takes someone literally pushing her in the right direction for her to get it."

On the next attempt of the song, Santana successfully completed the full routine with Hannah, and the Latina sent a huge smile to Brittany. The blonde sent her two thumbs up in return. They went through the song a few more times before John called it a wrap for the day.

"You did great, San," Brittany said while throwing her arms around the Latina once she approached, twirling her around.

Santana laughed at the blonde's antics, "Only after you helped me. It's so much easier when you're around to show me what I'm doing wrong." She twisted her pinky into Brittany's before smirking up at her and using her ghetto accent, "Now whats you say we blow 'dis joint, 'cause I gots to get some food."

Brittany groaned, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face, "Santana, you grew up in the _suburbs_. Your house was at least three times nicer than mine. Plus now you have like a bajillion dollars."

"Hells yes I do. Lima Heights Adjacent, represent bitches," Santana joked, her eyes crinkling with her smile.

Brittany just shook her head, smiling, as she allowed herself to be led out of the room.

"Is the car out front, Anderson?"

"Yes, Miss Lopez. Jones and Crabtree are already out front. The crowd is… sizable."

Santana sighed, all traces of her smile gone, "This is definitely going to be a shock, Britt. Just don't answer any questions, and try to smile at my fans. I promise I'll stay next to you the whole time."

"I know you will, San. I'm not worried."

The instant they walked outside, screams filled the air.

"Santana! I love you!"

"Its her!"

"Marry me?"

Santana walked forward confidently, her pinky still firmly twisted around Brittany's. She waved at the crowd with her free hand, picking up a pen to sign a few autographs. Two large men, who Brittany assumed must be Jones and Crabtree, stood stoically near to her, their eyes trained on the crowd.

"Blondie, are you and Santana dating?" A man with a camera asked while snapping photos.

Santana pulled Brittany past him and into the waiting car, sending one last wave to her fans before closing the door shut behind her, muffling the screams. Anderson quickly got into the drivers seat and the car pulled away from the curb.

"Sorry about that," Santana said, but Brittany could see the excitement in her eyes. It was obvious that she loved the limelight.

"It wasn't so bad, I mean, you got proposed to. So, that's pretty cool right?"

Santana laughed, "Yeah, apparently there's a pretty long list of people wanting that spot."

"I don't blame them," Brittany said honestly.

Santana's face grew serious at the statement, before a genuine smile broke through her features; something that looked like…_ hope_ shining in her eyes.

* * *

**A/N: **It takes hours to write and only seconds to review. Let me know what you think! It's always nice to hear from you guys. Favorite/ Follow! The song I had in mind while writing about the music video was "Feel Me" by Mecca Kalani. You guys should check it out.

You can follow me on tumblr at theorganicscientist

I do accept prompts, so if anyone has any requests, you can PM me.


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